John Howard Harris
Harris pictured in L'Agenda 1913, Bucknell yearbook
President of Bucknell University
In office
1889–1919
Preceded byDavid Jayne Hill
Succeeded byEmory William Hunt
Personal details
Born(1847-04-24)April 24, 1847
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
DiedApril 4, 1925(1925-04-04) (aged 77)
Scranton, Pennsylvania
EducationUniversity at Lewisburg
Signature

John Howard Harris (April 24, 1847 – April 4, 1925) was president of Bucknell University from 1889 to 1919.

Biography

John Howard Harris was born in Indiana County, Pennsylvania on April 24, 1847.[1]

Harris began teaching when he was just 15 years old. However, he soon left to serve in the American Civil War as a member of the Second Battalion, Pennsylvania Volunteers. His regiment was sent to guard the B. and O. Railroad in West Virginia. This had been partly destroyed by the Confederates at the time of Lee’s invasion of the North, and was an important artery of traffic. When his term of service ended, he returned to teaching, but because of an urgent appeal from President Lincoln in August of 1864 for more troops, he returned to the service and became a sergeant in Company H, 206th Pennsylvania Volunteers. This regiment was at once sent to take a place in the line in front of Richmond. Its job was to hold the Confederates, while Grant worked along the left flank and cut off the city. [2] Following the war, he obtained a BA from the University at Lewisburg in 1869.[1] While at Bucknell, he was a member of the Theta Alpha honor society and the Sigma Chi fraternity. He received the degree Master of Arts from Bucknell in 1872, and in later years Lafayette College gave him the degree Ph.D. Dickinson and Colgate each conferred upon him the degree LL.D. Bucknell made him a doctor of Civil Law in 1924. [3] In 1889, he was inaugurated as President of Bucknell University. He was president for 30 years, the longest term in the school's history. His presidency saw a large growth in enrollment and expansion of academic buildings and departments. [4]

He died at his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania on April 4, 1925.[5]

Harris Hall, a dormitory on Bucknell's campus, was named in his honor two years after his death. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. V. Boston: American Biographical Society. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ Bucknell Lose Great Educator, The Bucknellian, April 7, 1925
  3. ↑ Bucknell Lose Great Educator, The Bucknellian, April 7, 1925
  4. ↑ "1895: President Harris". Bucknell University. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Dr. John Howard Harris Dies at Scranton Home". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Scranton, Pennsylvania. April 5, 1925. p. 2. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Harris Hall, Bucknell University


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