Henry Sloane Coffin | |
|---|---|
 Coffin on the cover ofTime November 15, 1926 | |
| Born | (1877-01-05)January 5, 1877 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 25, 1954(1954-11-25) (aged 77) Lakeville, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Title | President of theUnion Theological Seminary |
| Spouse | Dorothy (nee Eells) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Yale College,Union Theological Seminary |
Henry Sloane Coffin (January 5, 1877, inNew York City – November 25, 1954, inLakeville, Connecticut) was president of theUnion Theological Seminary,Moderator of thePresbyterian Church in the United States of America, and one of the most famous ministers in the United States. He was also one of the translators of the popular hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel", along withJohn Mason Neale.[1][2]
Coffin was the son of Edmund Coffin and Euphemia Sloane. He was an heir to the fortune of the furniture firm ofW. and J. Sloane & Co. His brother wasWilliam Sloane Coffin, who was later the president of New York'sMetropolitan Museum of Art.
Coffin attendedYale College and obtained aBachelor of Arts in 1897. In 1896, he was one of fifteen juniors invited to join theSkull and Bones. He then received his master's degree from Yale in 1900.
During his time at Yale, Coffin was on friendly terms with evangelistDwight L. Moody, who devoted considerable attention to Coffin during his famous Northfield Conferences in Massachusetts. In spite of Moody's influence, Coffin would emerge as a leading theological liberal.
Coffin also obtained hisBachelor of Divinity from theUnion Theological Seminary in 1900. He then became pastor ofMadison Avenue Presbyterian Church inNew York City in 1910. He declined an offer to become president of Union Theological Seminary in 1916. In 1917, he became Chairman of the Committee of the Board of Home Missions. In 1926, offered the presidency of Union a second time, he accepted and retained the post until 1945.
On March 20, 1927, Coffin preached at a 75th Anniversary service for theCentral Congregational Church inProvidence, Rhode Island.[3]
Coffin was married to Dorothy Eells. He was the uncle ofWilliam Sloane Coffin, and a member of theYale Corporation (1921–45).
Henry Sloane Coffin died in 1954 at age 77 and was interred atSleepy Hollow Cemetery inSleepy Hollow,NY.
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| Preceded by The Rev. Stuart Nye Hutchison | Moderator of the 155th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 1943–1944 | Succeeded by The Rev. Roy Ewing Vale |
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