John Early | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 26th & 28th President of Georgetown University | |
| In office 1870–1873 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard A. Maguire |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Francis Healy |
| In office 1858–1865 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard A. Maguire |
| Succeeded by | Bernard A. Maguire |
| 1st & 5th President of Loyola College in Maryland | |
| In office 1866–1870 | |
| Preceded by | Anthony F. Ciampi |
| Succeeded by | Edward Henchy |
| In office 1852–1858 | |
| Succeeded by | William Francis Clarke |
| 3rd President of the College of the Holy Cross | |
| In office 1848–1851 | |
| Preceded by | James A. Ryder |
| Succeeded by | Anthony F. Ciampi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1814-07-01)July 1, 1814 Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh, Ireland |
| Died | May 23, 1873(1873-05-23) (aged 58) Washington, D.C., United States |
| Resting place | Jesuit Community Cemetery |
| Alma mater | |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 1, 1845 |
John EarlySJ (July 1, 1814 – May 23, 1873) was an Irish-AmericanCatholic priest andJesuit educator who was the president of theCollege of the Holy Cross andGeorgetown University, as well as the founder and first president ofLoyola College in Maryland. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United States at the age of nineteen. Upon his arrival, he enrolled atMount St. Mary's Seminary inMaryland and entered theSociety of Jesus, completing his education at Georgetown University inWashington, D.C.
Early becamepresident of the College of the Holy Cross in 1848, where he unsuccessfully petitioned theMassachusetts legislature tocharter the school. Four years later, he was charged with establishing Loyola College in Maryland, which was intended to educate thelay students who attendedSt. Mary's Seminary and College, which theSulpicians sought to keep as aseminary only. While also serving as the firstpastor ofSt. Ignatius Church, he oversaw the early years of Loyola College. He also established its high school division, which later becameLoyola Blakefield. In 1858, Early left to becomepresident of Georgetown University. During theCivil War, instruction continued uninterrupted, despite intermittent occupation by theUnion Army and dwindling enrollment.
Early then returned to Loyola College in 1866 as president for four years, where he resumed the annual conferral of degrees. In 1870, he once again became president of Georgetown University. He died suddenly in his third year of office.
John Early was born on July 1, 1814, inMaguiresbridge, County Fermanagh, Ireland. He studied theclassics at home, before entering theArmagh Academy in 1832,[1] which he attended for nine months. He then applied for admission to theseminary atSt Patrick's College, Maynooth, but there were no vacancies, and he was not admitted.[2] As a result of his failure to gain admission to the seminary, Early emigrated to the United States in July 1833.[3]
Seeking to become apriest,[4] Early enrolled atMount St. Mary's Seminary inEmmitsburg, Maryland, the following September to studyrhetoric. In February 1834, he advanced toGeorgetown University inGeorgetown, D.C. (now a part ofWashington, D.C.),[3] where he remained until August 23, 1834,[5] when he entered theSociety of Jesus, and proceeded to thenovitiate inFrederick, Maryland. Upon the completion of his novitiate in 1836, Early returned to Georgetown for the next nine years to studyphilosophy andtheology. While studying, he also taught and was headprefect during the academic year of 1843 to 1844.[3]
On July 1, 1845,[6] Early wasordained apriest atHoly Trinity Church inGeorgetown. He then taught philosophy at Georgetown for two years, and ministered as amissionary inLaurel, Maryland. He began ministering atOld St. Joseph's Church inPhiladelphia in 1847.[3] He professed hisfourth vow on September 8, 1853.[5]
On August 29, 1848, Early was appointedpresident of theCollege of the Holy Cross,[7] succeedingJames A. Ryder.[8] His most immediate concern was securing acharter for the college, which would allow it to confer degrees on the four students who were ready to graduate the following year.[7] Up to that point, the college awarded degrees in the name of Georgetown University, as it had been denied a charter.[9] In March 1849, Early petitioned theMassachusetts General Court to charter the college,[7] and appeared before the legislature alongsideOrestes Brownson.[10]
In accordance with BishopJohn Bernard Fitzpatrick's insistence, the petition for a charter included a provision that the college would be exclusively for the "benefit of one [Roman Catholic] denomination only, and, therefore, having no claims whatever upon theCommonwealth." This was met with opposition in theHouse of Representatives,[9] which was motivated by a mix of bothanti-Catholicism and concerns about theseparation of church and state.[11] This provision was eventually removed,[12] but the legislature nonetheless voted to deny the charter.[13] Early's term came to an end in 1851, and he was succeeded byAnthony F. Ciampi.[14] Early then returned to Frederick, Maryland for a year.[3]
In 1852, theSulpician priests who ranSt. Mary's Seminary and College inBaltimore decided that they would discontinue the college portion, which educatedlay students, and focus only on the seminary. They asked the Jesuits to continue educating the laity in the city, and in response, the Jesuits establishedLoyola College in Maryland on September 15, 1852, in two rented houses on Holliday Street in Baltimore.[15] Early was appointed the school'sfirst president.[16] TheMaryland General Assembly granted Loyola College a charter in April 1853.[15] At the same time as the college's founding,St. Ignatius Church. Early became its firstpastor, and oversaw building of the church in August 1855, adjacent to the college. The church wasconsecrated on August 15, 1856.[17] Early is also considered the founder ofLoyola Blakefield, which was established as Loyola High School and operated as a component of Loyola College until its separation in 1921.[18]
Two years after its founding, the college purchased a plot of land on the corner ofNorth Calvert and Madison Streets. Construction of a college building was completed in February 1855, and the college officially relocated to the new campus on February 22.[16] Being called to Georgetown University, Early's tenure as president came to an end in the autumn of 1858,[19] and he was succeeded byWilliam Francis Clarke.[20] He remained as pastor of St. Ignatius until October 1858, and was succeeded by Clarke.[17]
Early was appointed to succeedBernard A. Maguire aspresident of Georgetown University in 1858. He took office during a time of great national tension, preceding theCivil War.[21] Soon thereafter, he received notice from theCollege of William & Mary that its library had been destroyed by fire; Early donated a case of 100 books to aid it in rebuilding.[22] In 1860,Abraham Lincoln was electedpresident of the United States, and thesouthern states seceded from the Union. At the start of the academic year of 1861, many southern students left the college for their homes,[23] followed by northern students doing the same.[24] Though it looked doubtful that the college would be able to continue operating,[24] Georgetown endured as an active school, carrying on with classes throughout the Civil War for the few remaining students.[4]
On May 4, 1861, Early was notified that the college would becommandeered by the69th Infantry Regiment of theNew York National Guard,[24] which remained until May 24. Shortly thereafter, he was again informed that the school would be occupied by the79th New York Regiment, which remained from June 3 to July 4.[25] The college was occupied for a third time on August 29, 1862, as a hospital for the soldiers of Major GeneralJohn Pope's army wounded at theSecond Battle of Bull Run.[26] Due to the many wounded, Holy Trinity Church was also commandeered. The campus remained a military hospital until February 2, 1863.[27]
Early's term as president came to an end in 1865, and he was succeeded by his predecessor, Maguire, on January 1, 1866.[3] Early then went toBoston, where he engaged in missionary work until July of that year.[3]
Early was once again appointed president of Loyola College in the summer of 1866,[28] to replace Ciampi.[29] He also again became pastor of St. Ignatius Church.[17] The college fared well during his leadership. While there had been a pause in the conferral of degrees during the Civil War, Early saw that students completed their course of study and received degrees. The Loyola Dramatic Association, which was founded in 1865, was especially active during his term.[30] After four years, his presidency came to an end in July 1870, when he again returned to Georgetown.[31] He was succeeded byEdward Henchy as president of Loyola,[29] and as pastor of St. Ignatius.[32]
Early returned to Georgetown as president on July 14, 1870, to replace Maguire.[33][34] Following KingVictor Emmanuel II'sinvasion of Rome, the students held a meeting to denounce the invasion as an indignity to thepope,[33] and voted to contribute aPeter's Pence to the pontiff.[35] The university'sLaw Department had been established at the end of Maguire's presidency, and it began its first classes in October 1870.[36] TheGeorgetown College Journal began publishing in December 1872,[37] as the university's firststudent-produced newspaper.[38]
That year, Early began to experience the effects of a disease of his kidneys, which affected his eyesight.[3][39] As a result, the vice president,Patrick Francis Healy, largely took over the administration of the university; Healy would later succeed Early as president.[40] On May 22, 1873, Early suffered astroke,[3] which left him unable to speak and half his body paralyzed.[1] He died the following day.[2] It was estimated that 5,000 people attended his funeral, and he was buried in theJesuit Community Cemetery at Georgetown.[3][31]
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Media related toJohn Early (educator) at Wikimedia Commons| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | 3rdPresident of the College of the Holy Cross 1848–1851 | Succeeded by |
| New office | 1stPresident of Loyola College in Maryland 1852–1858 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 26thPresident of Georgetown University 1858–1865 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 5thPresident of Loyola College in Maryland 1866–1870 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 28thPresident of Georgetown University 1870–1873 | Succeeded by |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| New office | 1st Pastor ofSt. Ignatius Church 1852–1858 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | 5th Pastor ofSt. Ignatius Church 1866–1870 | Succeeded by |
