Significant American Professors of Philosophy,

Natural Philosophy, and Theology from 1637 to 1920

  

by John Shook, PhD
 

This website organizes professors of philosophy and other contributors to philosophical thought according to the college where they taught.
Many of the colleges listed here (and most of the colleges not listed here) assigned the teaching of philosophy to their college presidents or professors of denominational theology until the early 1900s.

For a chronological organization of these and many more American professors and intellectuals, see A Timeline of American Thought
See also the Dictionary of Early American Philosophers and the Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers.
Why not also visit the Pragmatism Cybrary?
 

American colleges founded during the Colonial period

Harvard University (1636)

College of William and Mary (1693)

Yale University (1701)

College of New Jersey (1746, now Princeton)

King's College (1754, now Columbia University)

College of Philadelphia (1755, now University of Pennsylvania)

College of Rhode Island (1765, now Brown University)

Dartmouth College (1769)

Queen's College (1771, now Rutgers University)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 American colleges founded between 1776 and 1835

Transylvania University (1780)

Washington College (Md.) (1782)

Dickinson College (1783)

Hampden-Sydney College (1783)

St. John's College (1784)

University of Georgia (1785)

Franklin College (1787, merged with Marshall College in 1850 to form Franklin and Marshall College)

Washington and Jefferson College (1787)

Georgetown University (1789)

University of North Carolina (1789)

University of Vermont (1791)

Williams College (1793)

Bowdoin College (1794)

University of Tennessee (1794)

Union College (NY) (1795)

Washington and Lee University (1798)

Middlebury College (1800)

Jefferson College (1801)

South Carolina College (1801, now University of South Carolina)

Washington College (Penn.) (1802)

Ohio University (1804)

Moravian College (1807)

Miami University (1809)

Hamilton College (1812)

Colby College (1813)

Allegheny College (1815)

University of Virginia (1816)

University of Alabama (1820)

Indiana University (1820)

Amherst (1821)

University of the City of New York (1831, now New York University)

Wesleyan University (1831)

Oberlin College (1833)

University of Delaware (1833)

Wake Forest University (1834)

 American colleges founded between 1835 and 1865

Emory University (1838)

University of Missouri (1839)

University of Michigan (1841)

University of Buffalo (1846, now SUNY at Buffalo)

University of Iowa (1847)

University of Mississippi (1848)

University of Wisconsin (1848)

University of Minnesota (1851)

University of Florida (1853)

Michigan State University (1855)

Pennsylvania State University (1855)

Auburn University (1856)

Iowa State University (1856)

University of Maryland (1856)

Wilberforce University (1856)

Louisiana State University (1859)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1861)

Kansas State University (1863)

University of Massachusetts (1863)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American colleges founded between 1865 and 1900

Atlanta University (1865, merged with Clark College (1869) to form Clark Atlanta University)

Cornell University (1865)

University of Kentucky (1865)

University of Maine (1865)

Fisk University (1866)

University of New Hampshire (1866)

Alabama State University (1867)

Howard University (1867)

University of Illinois (1867)

Morgan State University (1867)

West Virginia University (1867)

University of California (1868)

Oregon State University (1868)

Boston University (1869)

University of Nebraska (1869)

Purdue University (1869)

Colorado State University (1870)

Ohio State University (1870)

Alcorn State University (1871)

University of Arkansas (1871)

Texas A&M University (1871)

Vanderbilt University (1873)

University of Colorado (1876)

Johns Hopkins University (1876)

University of Oregon (1876)

Mississippi State University (1878)

Southern University (1880)

University of Connecticut (1881)

Tuskegee University (1881)

University of Texas (1883)

Kentucky State University (1886)

University of Wyoming (1886)

Florida A&M University (1887)

North Carolina State University (1887)

Utah State University (1888)

Clemson University (1889)

Oklahoma State University (1890)

University of Oklahoma (1890)

University of Rhode Island (1892)

 

Harvard University

Presidents and Significant Faculty of Philosophy, Natural Philosophy, and Theology from 1637 to 1920

  SUMMARY

1680s-1690s  William Brattle, John Leverett, and Charles Morton teach logic and natural philosophy, write influential textbooks.
1700-1760s

Henry Flynt teaches logic, natural philosophy using Brattle’s Logick. John Winthrop teaches experimental philosophy.

1770s-1795 A series of Instructors use Isaac Watt’s Logick.
1795-1832 Levi Hedge teaches Scottish Realism. Levi Frisbie is First Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity; followed by Hedge as Second Alford Professor in 1827.
1835-1853 Francis Bowen teaches intellectual philosophy and political economy; replaced in 1839 by James Walker, the Third Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity.
1853-1889 Francis Bowen is Fourth Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity.
1872-1910 George Palmer joins Bowen, then becomes Fifth Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity. Palmer is then joined by William James, Josiah Royce, George Santayana, Hugo Munsterberg, and Ralph Barton Perry.

 See also lists of Harvard AB graduates at http://www.colonialancestors.com/harvard1.htm

President                               Term               Other Faculty during Term 

Nathaniel Eaton (1609-1674)

1637-1639

President taught all classes.

Henry Dunster (1609-1659)

1640-1654

 President taught all classes.

Charles Chauncy (1592-1672)

1654-1672

Jonathan Mitchell (1624-1668)
Tutor (1649-1650). Succeeded Thomas Shepard Sr. to the pulpit of Cambridge Church in 1650.

Urian Oakes (c1631-1681)
Fellow and Tutor (1650 to 1653). Graduates like Oakes typically stayed a year or two as tutors before finding minister positions. Tutors were assigned to groups of students and taught all subjects to them.

Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705)
Tutor (1652-1654). Later famous for his poetry and jeremiad sermons. Son Edward became first Hollis Professor of Divinity.

Leonard Hoar (c.1630-1675)

1672-1675

Urian Oakes (c1631-1681)
Fellow (1672-1673). Became President of Harvard.

Thomas Shepard, Jr.
Fellow and Tutor (?-1673). Son of Cambridge Church pastor Thomas Shepard Sr.

In 1673 the four teaching fellows resigned their posts, and many students dropped out, precipitating the resignation of Hoar.

Urian Oakes (c1631-1681)

1675-1681

Thomas Shepard, Jr.
Fellow and Tutor (1675-?)

John Rogers (1631-1684)

1682-1684

? 

Increase Mather (1639-1723)

1685-1701

 John Leverett (1662-1724)
Fellow and Tutor (1685-1696). Wrote Compendium Logicae Verum (1692). Later was Acting President.

William Brattle (1662-1717)
Fellow and Tutor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1686-1696). He also informally served as divinity professor from 1696-1717 as minister of the local Cambridge church. His Compendium of Logick made Cartesian logic dominant at Harvard from 1687 to the 1760s, when new tutors preferred Isaac Watts’s Logick.
 

Charles Morton (c1627-1698)
Occasional Lecturer on experimental science and psychology (1687-1698). His Compendium Physicae and Logick System, written during his academy years in England, were copied and recopied in manuscript by Harvard students for use as textbooks from 1687 until about 1728. Called America’s First philosopher. Also served as Fellow.

Henry Flynt (1676-1760)
Tutor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1699-1760)  In 1699, after failing to secure a pulpit, he was appointed tutor at Harvard, a post previously held by recent graduates for a few years until securing a pastorate. Flynt was the first of the college's career tutors. He began with freshmen and moved up with them until graduation, teaching every subject (except divinity) in the curriculum, namely, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, logic, rhetoric, physics, ethics, metaphysics, geography, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. In later years as other faculty were added, his duties concentrated on math, logic, ethics, and metaphysics. He used Brattle’s Compendium of Logick.

John Leverett (1662-1724) and William Brattle (1662-1717) [acting Presidents for Mather]

1688-1692

Brattle and Leverett were the faculty and on-site administration of the college from 1685 to 1696, and Brattle informally led the college until 1707.

Samuel Willard (1640-1707) [as Vice-President, never officially became President]

1701-1707

William Brattle (1662-1717)
Informal professor of divinity (1696-1717) and minister of the local Cambridge church. Brattle also was the on-site official at Harvard during much of Willard’s administration.

Henry Flynt (1676-1760)
Tutor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1699-1760)

Thomas Brattle (1658-1713)
Gave informal instruction in mathematics and astronomy (1689-1713). Also served as Treasurer. Teacher of Thomas Robie.

John Leverett (1662-1724)

1708-1724

Henry Flynt (1676-1760)
Tutor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1699-1760)

Thomas Brattle (1658-1713)
Gave informal instruction in mathematics and astronomy (c1695-1713). Also served as Treasurer. Teacher of Thomas Robie.

Thomas Robie (1689-1729)
Tutor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1713-1729). Robie probably introduced calculus in 1719. Teacher of Isaac Greenwood.

Edward Wigglesworth, Sr. (1693-1765)
First Hollis Professor of Divinity (1722-1765)

Judah Monis (1683-1764)
Tutor of Hebrew (1722-1760). He received an honorary MA in 1723 from Harvard, becoming the first Jew to receive an academic degree in the North American colonies.

Benjamin Wadsworth (1669-1737)

1725-1737

 Henry Flynt (1676-1760)
Tutor of mathematics and natural philosophy (1699-1760)

Edward Wigglesworth, Sr. (1693-1765)
First Hollis Professor of Divinity (1722-1765)

Judah Monis (1683-1764)
Tutor of Hebrew (1722-1760)

Isaac Greenwood (1702-1745)
First Hollis Chair of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1728-1738)

Edward Holyoke (1689-1769)

1737-1769

Henry Flynt (1676-1760)
Tutor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1699-1760)

Edward Wigglesworth, Sr. (1693-1765)
First Hollis Professor of Divinity (1722-1765)

Isaac Greenwood (1702-1745)
First Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1728-1738)

John Winthrop (1714-1779)
Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1739-1780). The most renowned scientist of Colonial America next to Benjamin Franklin.

Edward Wigglesworth, Jr. (1732-1794)
Tutor (1764-1765). Hollis Professor of Divinity (1765-1791)

Joseph Willard (1738-1804)
Tutor in Greek (1766-1772). Later President of Harvard.

First Instructor of Logic appointed in 1767. In 1766-67 Harvard reorganized the tutor system, assigning tutors to specific subjects rather than to a group of students. A series of ten instructors on logic held this position until Levi Hedge’s appointment in 1795.

Samuel Locke (1732-1778)

  

Samuel Langdon (1723-1797)

 

Edward Wigglesworth, Jr. (1732-1794) [acting President]

1770-1773

  

1774-1780

  

1780-1781

 

 John Winthrop (1714-1779)
Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1739-1780)

Edward Wigglesworth, Jr. (1732-1794)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1765-1791)

Joseph Willard (1738-1804)
Tutor in Greek (1766-1772). Later President of Harvard.

Joseph Willard (1738-1804)

1781-1804

 Edward Wigglesworth, Jr. (1732-1794)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1765-1791)

Samuel Williams (1743-1817)
Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1780-1788)

Eliphalet Pearson (1752-1826)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages (1786-1806). Later Acting President of Harvard.

Samuel Webber (1759-1810)
Tutor (1787-1789). Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1789-1810). His System of Mathematics (1801) for a long time was almost the only text-book on that subject in New England colleges.

David Tappan (1752-1803)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1792-1803)

Levi Hedge (1766-1844)
Tutor (1795-1810). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1810-27). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity (1827-1832). His Elements of Logic (later published in 1816) and his Scottish realism was influential at Harvard.

Eliphalet Pearson (1752-1826) [acting President]
 

 

 

Samuel Webber (1759-1810)

 

 

Henry Ware (1764-1845) [acting President]

1804-1806

 

 

 

1806-1810

 

 

 1810

 Eliphalet Pearson (1752-1826)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages (1786-1806).

Samuel Webber (1759-1810)
Tutor (1787-1789). Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1789-1810). Later President of Harvard.

Levi Hedge (1766-1844)
Tutor (1795-1810). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1810-27). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity (1827-1832).  

Henry Ware (1764-1845)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1805-1840). In 1816 he joined the new Divinity School faculty. Served as Acting President twice. His Unitarian stance angered the Trinitarians (including President Pearson) who started Andover Seminary in 1808.

Levi Frisbie (1783-1822)
Tutor of Latin (1805-1810). Professor of Latin (1811-1817). First Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity (1817-1822).

John Farrar (1779-1853)
Tutor of Greek (1805-1807). Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1807-1836).

John Thornton Kirkland (1770-1840)

1810-1828

 Levi Hedge (1766-1844)
Tutor (1795-1810). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1810-27). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity (1827-1832).  

Henry Ware (1764-1845)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1805-1840). In 1816 he joined the new Divinity School faculty.

Levi Frisbie (1783-1822)
Tutor of Latin (1805-1810). Professor of Latin (1811-1817). First Alford Professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity (1817-1822).

John Farrar (1779-1853)
Tutor of Greek (1805-1807). Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1807-1836).

Andrews Norton (1786-1853)
Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Criticism (1813-1819). Dexter Professor of Sacred Literature (1819-1829).

Edward Everett (1795-1865)
Professor of Greek literature (1815-1826). Later President of Harvard.

George Ticknor (1791-1871)
Professor of Belles Lettres, French and Spanish (1819-1835)

Edward Tyrell Channing (1790–1856)
Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (1819-1851)

Henry Ware (1764-1845) [acting President]
 

 

 

Josiah Quincy (1772-1864)

1828-1829

 

 

 

1829-1845

 Levi Hedge (1766-1844)
Tutor (1795-1810). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1810-27). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity (1827-1832).

Henry Ware (1764-1845)
Hollis Professor of Divinity (1805-1840). In 1816 he joined the new Divinity School faculty.

John Farrar (1779-1853)
Tutor of Greek (1805-1807). Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Philosophy (1807-1836).

Andrews Norton (1786-1853)
Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Criticism (1813-1819). Dexter Professor of Sacred Literature (1819-1829).

Edward Tyrell Channing (1790-1856)
Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (1819-1851)

George Ticknor (1791-1871)
Professor of Belles Lettres, French and Spanish (1819-1835)

Henry Ware, Jr. (1794-1843)
Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care (1830-1842)

Francis Bowen (1811-1890)
Instructor in intellectual philosophy and political economy (1835-1839).

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Smith Professor of Belles-Lettres, French and Spanish (1836-1854)

Jared Sparks (1789-1866)
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History (1838-1849). Later President of Harvard.

James Walker (1794-1874)
Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1839-1853). Later was President of Harvard.

George Rapall Noyes (1798-1868)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature (1840-1868)

Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

James Walker (1794-1874) [acting President]
 

   

 

Edward Everett (1794-1865)

 

 

 

Jared Sparks (1789-1866)

1845-1846

 

  

  

1846-1849

 

 

 

1849-1853

 Edward Tyrell Channing (1790–1856)
Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (1819-1851)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Smith Professor of Belles-Lettres, French and Spanish (1836-1854)

Jared Sparks (1789-1866)
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History (1838-1853). Later was President of Harvard.

James Walker (1794-1874)
Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1839-1853).

Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

___________________________________________

Harvard Divinity School

George Rapall Noyes (1798-1868)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature (1840-1868)

Convers Francis (1795-1863)
Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care (1842-1863)

James Walker (1794-1874)

1853-1860

 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Smith Professor of Belles-Lettres, French and Spanish (1836-1854)

Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

Francis Bowen (1811–1890)
Instructor in Intellectual Philosophy and Political Economy (1835-1839). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1853-1889)

____________________________________________

Harvard Divinity School

George Rapall Noyes (1798-1868)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature (1840-1868)

Convers Francis (1795-1863)
Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care (1842-1863)

Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890)
 Professor of ecclesiastical history at Harvard Divinity School (1857-1860). Professor of German (1872-1881). Son of Levi Hedge.

Cornelius Conway Felton (1807-1862)

1860-1862

 Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

Francis Bowen (1811–1890)
Instructor in Intellectual Philosophy and Political Economy (1835-1839). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1853-1889)

___________________________________________

Harvard Divinity School

George Rapall Noyes (1798-1868)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature (1840-1868)

Convers Francis (1795-1863)
Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care (1842-1863)

Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890)
 Professor of ecclesiastical history at Harvard Divinity School (1857-1860). Professor of German (1872-1881). Son of Levi Hedge.

Andrew Preston Peabody (1811-1893)
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals (1860-1881)

Andrew Preston Peabody (1811-1893) [acting President]
 

 

 

Thomas Hill (1818-1891)

 

 

 

Andrew Preston Peabody (1811-1893)  [acting President]

1862

 

 

  

1862-1868

 

 

 

1868-1869

 Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

Francis Bowen (1811–1890)
Instructor in Intellectual Philosophy and Political Economy (1835-1839). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1853-1889)

_________________________________________

Harvard Divinity School

George Rapall Noyes (1798-1868)
Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer on Biblical Literature (1840-1868)

Convers Francis (1795-1863)
Parkman Professor of Pulpit Eloquence and Pastoral Care (1842-1863)

Andrew Preston Peabody (1811-1893)
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals (1860-1881)

 

Charles William Eliot  (1834-1926)

 

1869-1909

 Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880)
University Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1836-1838); University Professor of Mathematics (1838-1842); University Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy (1842-1880)

Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890)
 Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School (1857-1860). Professor of German (1872-1881).

Francis Bowen (1811–1890)
Instructor in Intellectual Philosophy and Political Economy (1835-1839). Alford Professor of Natural Religion, Moral Philosophy, and Civil Polity (1853-1889)

Charles Franklin Dunbar (1830-1900 )
 Professor of Political Economy (1871-1900)

George Herbert Palmer (1842-1933)
 Tutor of Greek (1870-1872). Professor of Philosophy (1872-1889). Alford Professor of Philosophy (1889-1913).

William James (1842-1910)
Instructor, Assistant Professor of Physiology (1873-1879). Professor of Philosophy (1879-1889, 1897-1907). Professor of Psychology (1889-1897). Introduces psychology courses at Harvard in 1875.

Josiah Royce (1855-1916)
Professor of Philosophy (1882-1916)

George Santayana (1863-1952)
Professor of Philosophy (1889-1912)

Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916)
Professor of Psychology (1892-1895, 1897-1916)

Ralph Barton Perry (1876-1957)
Professor of Philosophy (1902-1946)

_______________________________________

Harvard Divinity School

Charles Carroll Everett (1829-1900)
First Bussey Professor of Theology, New Testament Criticism, and Interpretation at Harvard Divinity School (1869-1900).

Andrew Preston Peabody (1811-1893)
Plummer Professor of Christian Morals (1860-1881)

Francis Greenwood Peabody (1847-1936)
Lecturer in Ethics and Homiletics (1880-1881). Parkman Professor of Theology (1881-1886). Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School (1886-1912)

David Gordon Lyon (1852-1935)
Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School (1882-1910)
 

Abbott Lawrence Lowell (1856-1943)
 

  

1909-1933

 George Herbert Palmer (1842-1933)
 Tutor of Greek (1870-1872). Professor of Philosophy (1872-1889). Alford Professor of Philosophy (1889-1913).

Josiah Royce (1855-1916)
Professor of Philosophy (1882-1916)

George Santayana (1863-1952)
Professor of Philosophy (1889-1912)

Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916)
Professor of Psychology (1892-1895, 1897-1916)

Ralph Barton Perry (1876-1957)
Professor of Philosophy (1902-1946)

William Ernest Hocking (1873-1966)
Professor of Philosophy (1914-1943)

Raphael Demos (1892-1968)
Professor of Philosophy (1916-1962)

Henry Maurice Sheffer (1883-1964)
Professor of Philosophy (1916-1954)

Clarence Irving Lewis (1883-1964)
Professor of Philosophy (1920-1953)

 

 

College of William and Mary

Presidents and Significant Faculty of Philosophy, Natural Philosophy, and Theology from 1693 to 1920

King William III and Queen Mary II granted a charter to establish The College of William and Mary in 1693. Only the grammar school was in operation till about 1712, when a chair of natural philosophy and mathematics was added. By 1729 the college had a president and six professors.

President                               Term               Other Faculty during Term 


James Blair (1656-1743)
Taught philosophy and other subjects.
 		 1693-1743 William Dawson (1704-1752)
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1729-52)
William Dawson (1704-1752)
Also Professor of Moral Philosophy.

William Stith

Thomas Dawson

William Yates

James Horrocks (1734-1772)

John Camm (1718-79)

 

 

 1743-1752

 

1752-1755

1755-1760

1761-1764

1764-1771

1771-1776

 

 

William Preston
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1752-1758)

Jacob Rowe
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1758-60)

William Small
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics (1758-1764), also Professor of Moral Philosophy (1760).  "In 1760 he made a great departure from the practice, universally prevalent at that day, of memory lessons, by being the first professor at William and Mary, and, it is believed, the first in America, to adopt the modern lecture system."

Samuel Henley (1745-1815)
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1770-1775).

James Madison (1749-1812)
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics (1773-1775). Later became President of William and Mary.

George Wythe (1726-1806)
Professor of Law (1770-1790). Wythe held the first professorship of law in America.
James Madison (1749-1812)
 In 1779 the college abolished the grammar school and the two divinity schools, and in their places substituted a school of modern languages, a school of constitutional and court law, and a school of medicine. 		1776-1812  

George Wythe (1726-1806)
Professor of Law (1770-1790). Wythe held the first professorship of law in America.

Robert Andrews
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1779-1784). Also taught mathematics and other subjects for many years.

St. George Tucker (1752-1827)
Professor of Law (1790-1803).

 

John Bracken

John Augustine Smith (1782-1865)  Also Professor of Moral Philosophy

William Holland Wilmer (1782-1827) Also Professor of Moral Philosophy

Adam Empie (1785–1860) Also Professor of Moral Philosophy

 

 1812-1814

1814-1826

 

1826-1827

 

1827-1836

 

 Thomas Roderick Dew (1802-1846)
Professor of Political Law at College of William and Mary (1827-36). Later President of College of William and Mary.

Beverley Tucker (1784-1851)
Professor of Law (1834-1851)
Thomas Roderick Dew (1802-1846)  Also Professor of Philosophy.

Robert Saunders, Jr.

John Johns (1796-1876)
Also Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy 

 
1836-1846

 

1847-1848

1849-1854

 

 

 Archibald Cary Peachy
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1847)

George Frederick Holmes (1820-1897)
Professor of History and Political Economy (1847-1848)

Silas Totten (1804-1873)
Prof. Moral Philosophy and English (1848-1859)
Benjamin Stoddart Ewell (1810-1894)
 		 1854-1888 Silas Totten (1804-1873)
Prof. Moral Philosophy and English (1848-1859)
Lyon Gardiner Tyler (1853-1925)
 		 1888-1919

Hugh S. Bird
Professor of Moral Philosophy (1898-1904)

Alexander Brainard Coffey
Professor of Philosophy and Education (1905-1907)

George Oscar Ferguson (1885-1960)
Professor of Philosophy and Psychology (1907-1916)

Joseph Roy Geiger
Professor of Philosophy and Psychology (1916-1935)

 

 

 Yale University

Rectors/Presidents and Significant Faculty of Philosophy, Natural Philosophy, and Theology from 1701 to 1920

 

Rector/President                                Term                              Other faculty

Abraham Pierson (1641-1707). Taught some Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and theology

1701-1707

Pierson served concurrently as the minister of the Killingworth (now Clinton) Congregational church, where the “Collegiate School” was based during his tenure.

Samuel Andrew (?-?)

In 1716 the school moved to New Haven. Renamed Yale College in 1718.

1707-1719

Samuel Johnson (1696-1772)
Tutor (1716-1719). Later President of King’s College (Columbia).

Timothy Cutler (1684-1765)

1719-1722

With Johnson, Cutler converted to Anglicanism in 1722 and resigned.

Elisha Williams (1694-1755)

1726-1739

 

Thomas Clap (1703-1767). Clap was a foremost expert in mathematics, astronomy, and natural philosophy.

1740-1765

Napthali Daggett (1727-1780)
First Livingston Professor of Divinity (1754-1777). Later President of Yale.

Ezra Stiles (1727-1795)
Tutor (1749-1755). Later was President of Yale.

Naphtali Daggett (1727-1780). First Livingston Professor of Divinity (1754-1777).

1766-1777

 

Ezra Stiles (1727-1795)

1778-1795

Stiles was obliged to take on most of the advanced instruction himself. “One of the most learned men of his time in America.”

Timothy Dwight IV (1752-1817). The College consisted of only five tutors at the time of his accession, but soon Dwight added a Professor of Law in 1801, a Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in 1803, a Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in 1804, and a Professor of Hebrew, Greek and Latin in 1805.

1795-1817

Jeremiah Day (1773-1867)
Tutor (1798-1801). Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1803-1817). Later became President of Yale.

Josiah Willard Gibbs (1790-1861)
Tutor (1811-1815). Lecturer in Biblical Literature (1824-1826). Professor of Sacred Literature (1826-1861).

Jeremiah Day (1773-1867)

1817-1846

Nathaniel William Taylor (1786-1858)
Dwight Professor of Didactic Theology (1822-1858) 

Theodore Dwight Woolsey (1801-1899)
Professor of Greek (1831-1846). Later was President of Yale.

Eleazar Thompson Fitch (1791-1871)
Livingston Professor of Divinity (1817-1852). Lecturer on Homiletics at Yale Divinity School (1824 to 1861).

Chauncey Allen Goodrich (1790-1860)
First Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (1818-1839). Professor of Homiletics and the Pastoral Charge at Yale Divinity School (1839-1860).

Theodore Dwight Woolsey (1801-1899)

1846-1871

Nathaniel William Taylor (1786-1858)
Dwight Professor of Didactic Theology (1822-1858) 

Eleazar Thompson Fitch (1791-1871)
Livingston Professor of Divinity (1817-1852). Lecturer on Homiletics at Yale Divinity School (1824 to 1861).

Chauncey Allen Goodrich (1790-1860)
First Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory (1818-1839). Professor of Homiletics and the Pastoral Charge at Yale Divinity School (1839-1860).

Noah Porter (1811-1892)
First Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics (1847-1892)

George Park Fisher (1827-1909)
Livingston Professor of Divinity (1854-1861). Professor of Ecclesiastical History (1861-1901).

Noah Porter (1811-1892). First Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics (1847-1892). Taught all courses in mental and moral philosophy, history of philosophy, natural theology, and evidences of Christianity.

1871-1886

William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)
Professor of Political and Social Science (1872-1910).

George Trumbull Ladd (1842-1921)
Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy (1881-1906)

Timothy Dwight V (1828-1916)

1886-1899

Noah Porter (1811-1892)
First Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics (1847-1892)

William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)
Professor of Political and Social Science (1872-1910).

George Trumbull Ladd (1842-1921)
Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy (1881-1892). Clark Professor of Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics (1892-1905).

George Martin Duncan (1857-1928)
Professor of Philosophy (1888-1904). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1904-1923).

Elias Hershey Sneath (1857-1935)
Professor of Philosophy (c1891-1905). Professor of Theory and Practice of Education (1905-?).

Edward Wheeler Scripture (1864-1945)
Assistant Professor of Psychology (1892-1903)
Arthur Twining Hadley  (1856-1930) 1899-1921

William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)
Professor of Political and Social Science (1872-1910).

George Trumbull Ladd (1842-1921)
Professor of Moral and Mental Philosophy (1881-1905)

George Martin Duncan (1857-1928)
Professor of Philosophy (1888-1904). Professor of Logic and Metaphysics (1904-1923).

Elias Hershey Sneath (1857-1935)
Professor of Philosophy (c1891-1905). Professor of Theory and Practice of Education (1905-?).

Edward Wheeler Scripture (1864-1945)
Assistant Professor of Psychology (1892-1903)

Charles Hubbard Judd (1873-1946)
Professor of Psychology (1902-1909)

Charles Montague Bakewell (1867-1957)
Clark Professor of Philosophy (1905-1933)

William Ernest Hocking (1873-1966)
Professor of Philosophy (1908-1914)

Douglas Clyde Macintosh (1877-1948)
Professor of Systematic Theology (1909-1916), Dwight Professor of Theology (1916-1933), Dwight Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion (1933-1942)

Wilmon Henry Sheldon (1875-1980)
Professor of Philosophy (1920-1943).

 

 

Princeton University

Rectors/Presidents and Significant Faculty of Philosophy, Natural Philosophy, and Theology from 1746 to 1920

  

President                                     Term                  Other Faculty  

Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747)

1746-1747

College of New Jersey founded in 1746. Classes were held in Dickinson’s parsonage in Elizabeth, N.J.

Aaron Burr, Sr. (1716-1757)

1747-1757

Classes were held at Burr’s Newark Church until 1756 when the college moved to Princeton.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

1757-1758

Edwards had barely started classes before his death.

Samuel Davies (1723-1761)

1759-1761

 

Samuel Finley (1715-1766)

1761-1766

 

John Witherspoon (1723-1794)

To the College’s faculty of five (three tutors and two professors), he added a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, leaving him responsible for providing instruction in moral philosophy, divinity, rhetoric, history, and French.

1768-1794

Samuel Stanhope Smith (1751-1819)
Tutor (1771-1773). Professor of Moral Philosophy (1779-1812). Professor of Theology (1783-1812).

William Churchill Houston (1746-1788)
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1771-1783)

Ashbel Green (1762-1848)
Tutor (1883-1885). Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1885-1887).

Walter Minto (1753-1796)
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1887-1796).

Samuel Stanhope Smith (1751-1819). Professor of moral philosophy (1779-1812), and Professor of theology (1783-1812).

1795-1812

John Maclean (1771-1814)
Professor of Chemistry (1795-1796). Professor of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy (1797-1812)

James Carnahan (1775-1859)
Tutor (1800-1803). Later was President of Princeton College.

By 1812 the four professors and finally Smith all resigned.

Ashbel Green (1762-1848)

1812-1822

Jacob Green (1790-1841)
Professor of Chemistry, Experimental Philosophy, and Natural History (1818-1822). Ashbel Green’s son.

John Maclean, Jr. (1800-1886)
Tutor of Greek (1818-1820). Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1822-1829). Professor of Classics (1829-1847). Vice-President (1847-1854). Later was President of Princeton College.

James Carnahan (1775-1859). Taught moral philosophy.  For several years Carnahan and Maclean were the only faculty. Princeton survived by the addition of three distinguished professors: mathematician Albert B. Dod; John Torrey, professor of chemistry and botany; and Joseph Henry, the inventor and physicist.

1823-1854

John Maclean, Jr. (1800-1886)
Tutor of Greek (1818-1820). Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy (1822-1829). Professor of Classics (1829-1847). Vice-President (1847-1854). Later was President of Princeton College.

John Maclean, Jr. (1800-1886)

1854-1868

Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater (1813-1883)
Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy (1854-1861). Professor of Revealed Religion and Metaphysics (1861-1867). Professor of Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Economics, and Politics (1869-1883).

Charles Woodruff Shields (1823-1904)
Professor of the Harmony of Science and Revealed Religion (1866-1903). Also Professor of Modern History (1869-1882).

James McCosh (1811-1894)

McCosh taught regular classes in the history of philosophy and psychology, and defended evolution.

1868-1888

Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater (1813-1883)
rofessor of Mental and Moral Philosophy (1854-1861). Professor of Revealed Religion and Metaphysics (1861-1867). Professor of Logic, Metaphysics, Ethics, Economics, and Politics (1869-1883).

Charles Woodruff Shields (1823-1904)
Professor of the Harmony of Science and Revealed Religion (1866-1903).

George Lansing Raymond (1839-1929)
Professor of Oratory and Aesthetics Criticism (1880-1893). Professor of Aesthetics (1893-1905).

Alexander Thomas Ormond (1874–1915)
Stuart Professor of Mental Science and Logic (1883-1898). McCosh Professor of Philosophy (1898-1903).

Francis Landey Patton (1843-1932)
Professor of Ethics (1884-1910s). Also taught philosophy of religion, and theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Later was President of Princeton College.

Alexander Johnston (1859-1889)
Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy (1884-1889)

Francis Landey Patton (1843-1932). Also taught ethics and philosophy of religion from 1884 into the 1910s. In 1902 he became President of Princeton Theological Seminary.

1888-1902

Charles Woodruff Shields (1823-1904)
Professor of the Harmony of Science and Revealed Religion (1866-1903).

George Lansing Raymond (1839-1929)
Professor of Oratory and Aesthetics Criticism (1880-1893). Professor of Aesthetics (1893-1905).

John Grier Hibben (1861-1933)
Instructor, Assistant Professor of logic (1891-1897). Stuart Professor of Logic (1897-1912). Later was President of Princeton.

James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934)
Professor of Psychology (1893-1903)

Alexander Thomas Ormond (1874–1915)
Stuart Professor of Mental Science and Logic (1883-1898). McCosh Professor of Philosophy (1898-1913).

Alexander Johnston (1859-1889)
Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy (1884-1889)
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 1902-1910

George Lansing Raymond (1839-1929)
Professor of Oratory and Aesthetics Criticism (1880-1893). Professor of Aesthetics (1893-1905).

John Grier Hibben (1861-1933)
Instructor, Assistant Professor of logic (1891-1897). Stuart Professor of Logic (1897-1912). Later was President of Princeton.

Alexander Thomas Ormond (1874–1915)
Stuart Professor of Mental Science and Logic (1883-1898). McCosh Professor of Philosophy (1898-1913).

Edward Gleason Spaulding (1873-1940)
Professor of Philosophy (1905-1940)

Walter Taylor Marvin (1905- )
Professor of Philosophy (1905-1910)

Norman Kemp-Smith (1872-1958)
Professor of Philosophy (1906-1919)
John Grier Hibben (1861-1933)

 

 1912-1932 Edward Gleason Spaulding (1873-1940)
Professor of Philosophy (1905-1940)

Norman Kemp-Smith (1872-1958)
Professor of Philosophy (1906-1919)

Robert M. Scoon (1886-?)
Professor of Classics (1911-1914, 1915-1923), Professor of Philosophy (1923-1955)

Archibald Allan Bowman (1883-1936)
Professor of Logic (1912-1914, 1919-1926)

Warner Fite (1867-1955)
Professor of Philosophy (1915-1935)

Charles William Hendel, Jr. (1890-1982)
Professor of Philosophy (1920-1929)

 

  

Princeton Theological Seminary

Significant Theology Faculty from 1812 to 1920

  Administered by its faculty with a rotation of leadership until 1902, its first president was Francis Landey Patton.

 Era                           Faculty during Era 

1812-1850

Archibald Alexander (1772-1851)
Professor of Theology and Philosophy (1812-1850). Father of James and Joseph Alexander, professors at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Samuel Miller (1769-1850)
Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government (1813-1849)

Charles Hodge (1797-1878)
Professor of  Oriental and Biblical Literature (1820-1840). Professor of Exegetical and Didactic Theology (1840-1852). Professor of Exegetical, Didactic, and Polemical Theology (1852-1877). His son Archibald became a professor at Princeton Theologi