Philip Lindsley | |
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| 1st President of the University of Nashville | |
| In office 1824–1850 | |
| Preceded by | (office created) |
| Succeeded by | John Berrien Lindsley |
| Acting President of Princeton University | |
| In office 1822–1823 | |
| Preceded by | Ashbel Green |
| Succeeded by | James Carnahan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 21, 1786 Basking Ridge, New Jersey, US |
| Died | May 25, 1855(1855-05-25) (aged 68) Nashville, Tennessee, US |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Lawrence Lindsley Mary Ann Myers Lindsley |
| Relations | Nathaniel Lawrence (father-in-law) |
| Children | Adrian Van Sinderen Lindsley John Berrien Lindsley |
| Alma mater | Princeton University |
| Occupation | Preacher, educator, classicist |
| Signature |  |
Philip Lindsley (1786–1855) was an AmericanPresbyterian minister, educator and classicist. He served as the acting president of the College of New Jersey (nowPrinceton University) from 1822 to 1824, and as the first president of the now-defunctUniversity of Nashville from 1824 to 1850.
Philip Lindsley was born inBasking Ridge, New Jersey on December 21, 1786.[1][2][3][4] He was educated in private academies and graduated from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University.[1]
He started teaching Latin and Greek at Princeton University in 1808.[1][3] By 1813, he became Professor of Languages, Librarian, Inspector (Dean), and secretary of the board of trustees.[1] He then served as its vice president from 1817 to 1822, and as its Acting President from 1822 to 1824.[1][2][5] However, he declined its presidency, as well as the presidencies ofTransylvania University inLexington, Kentucky,Ohio University inAthens, Ohio andDickinson College inCarlisle, Pennsylvania.[5][6]
In December 1824, he moved toNashville, Tennessee, to take up the presidency of Cumberland College.[1][5][6] Among his first acts as president was to request that its name be changed to theUniversity of Nashville, a change that took effect about a year after his arrival.[5][6] He hired respected scholars as faculty in fields including classics, foreign languages, mathematics, and geology.[1] At the same time, he actively recruited students.[1] He also suggested starting amedical school.[5]
He resigned his position in 1850, when the university suspended operations as a result of thecholera epidemic which led to low enrollment and to financial difficulties.[5] His son, John Berrien Lindsley, became the university's president when it reopened in 1855.[5]
After leaving the University of Nashville, he taught Ecclesiastical Polity and Biblical Archaeology at New Albany Theological Seminary inNew Albany, Indiana (now theMcCormick Theological Seminary inChicago).[1][2]
His ideas and ambitions regarding education had a lasting impact.[1] He promoted the Nashville city slogan "Athens of the South", a sobriquet coined byLeroy J. Halsey (1812-1896) that reflected his goal of making the University of Nashville into a nationally recognized institution.[1][3] He was an advocate for better education at all levels, becoming one of the first academics to urge the formal training of school teachers innormal schools.[1] He saw education as, "a great equalizer, a special right for the poor."[7] Additionally, in an essay entitledThoughts on Slavery, he wrote, "Our slaves must beemancipated."[7] In the 1830s he published a pamphlet that argued that all children should be offered a broad academic education, including Greek, Latin, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, geography, and English.[1]
He married Margaret Lawrence Lindsley, the daughter ofNathaniel Lawrence, who wasNew York Attorney General from 1792 to 1795.[1][2] The couple had three sons:
Margaret Lindsley died in 1845. In 1849, Lindsley married Mary Ann Myers, widow of Elias Myers, the founder of New Albany Theological Seminary.[1]
He died in Nashville on May 25, 1855.[2][4]
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