Henry W. Luce

Henry W. Luce

Henry Winters Luce (1868 in Scranton, Pennsylvania - 1941) was an American missionary and educator in China. He was the father of the publisher Henry R. Luce.

Biography

Henry W. Luce graduated from Yale University in 1892. After graduation, he stayed at Union Seminary in New York for 2 years, before his seminary training at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1896.

In 1897, Luce married Elizabeth Root, was ordained, and sent to China by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. In total, he spent 31 years in the country with Elizabeth, and where their four children were born, Henry, Emmavail, Elisabeth, and Sheldon.

Luce was a professor at Cheeloo University in Jinan, China, where he led fundraising efforts and served as vice president for a short time. He also helped to initiate the Yale-in-China Association. In 1928, he accepted a professorship at the Kennedy School of Missions in Hartford, Connecticut. He held this position until his retirement in 1935.

Honors

One of Luce's sons, Henry R. Luce, established a grant-making foundation as a tribute to his parents.

Luce Memorial Chapel, designed by I.M. Pei and situated on the campus of Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan, is named after Henry W. Luce. Construction of the chapel was sponsored by Henry R. Luce.