Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (educator)

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (1818–1901) was an American educator and Lutheran clergyman who served as president of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and as a Greek language and literature professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg
Born(1818-08-25)August 25, 1818
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
DiedMarch 21, 1901(1901-03-21) (aged 82)
Reading, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
OccupationProfessor at the University of Pennsylvania
Known forPresident of Muhlenberg College
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Family

Muhlenberg was born to German Americans Frederick Augustus Hall Muhlenberg (1795–1867) and his wife Elizabeth Schaum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on August 25, 1818.[1] Frederick A. Hall Muhlenberg was the son of Gotthilf Henry Ernst Muhlenberg a noted botanist. Muhlenberg was born at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where his father was a physician and a trustee of Frankin College. F. A. H. Muhlenberg had received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania where Benjamin Rush had been among his teachers.[2]

In 1848, Muhlenberg married Catherine Anne Muhlenberg. She was a granddaughter of Gotthilf Muhlenberg's brother Peter Muhlenberg,[3] and thus a second-cousin of Frederick. They were the parents of six sons.

Education and career

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg began his education at Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) and then transferred to Jefferson College (now Washington and Jefferson College) from which he graduated in 1836. He then studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1840 Muhlenberg joined the faculty of Franklin College (now Franklin & Marshall College).

In 1850, Muhlenberg joined the faculty of Pennsylvania College, where he taught Greek and served as college Librarian. In 1854 he was ordained a Lutheran minister, and actively served as such in various Lutheran Churches in and around Gettysburg. He remained at Pennsylvania College until 1867.

From 1867 to 1876, Muhlenberg served as president of Muhlenberg College.[4] In 1876, Muhlenberg was appointed a professor of Greek at the University of Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1888.[5]

He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1878.[6]

In 1891, Muhlenberg became the president of Thiel College. However, in 1893 a stroke forced him to resign that position. He lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, from 1893 until his death on March 21, 1901.[7]

References

  1. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. V. James T. White & Company. 1907. pp. 499–500. Retrieved April 6, 2021 via Google Books.
  2. Muhlenberg College (1892). Muhlenberg College: A quarter-centennial memorial volume, being a history of the College and a record of its men (Google eBook). Muhlenberg College. p. 171.
  3. "Great-Great-Grandson of Noted Pastor and Soldier, Graduate of College Here, Speaks at Muhlenberg Exercises in Va". Gettysburg Times. January 16, 1926.
  4. "Presidents of Muhlenberg College". Muhlenberg College.
  5. "Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (1818 - 1901)". University Archives & Records Center. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
  6. "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  7. "Well-Known Minister Dead". Lancaster New Era. March 22, 1901. p. 2. Retrieved April 6, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
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