John M. B. Sill

Sill began a career as a teacher when he was 18. When he was 22, he began studying at the State Normal School at Ypsilanti, graduating in 1854, the first man to have done so. In 1867, he was appointed a regent of the University of Michigan.[2] He held this position through 1869.

In February 1875, after the retirement of Duane Doty, Sill was elected by the Detroit Board of Education to be the superintendent of Detroit Public Schools.[3] On July 28, 1881, the Detroit Board of Education approved Sill's plan to establish a normal school in Detroit, something that his predecessor had pushed unsuccessfully for throughout his tenure. That September, the Detroit Normal Training School for Teachers began offering classes at the city's only high school (located in the state's original capitol building). The school later became part of what is today Wayne State University.[4]

Sill served as Detroit superintendent until becoming president of Michigan State Normal College, a position he was elected to on July 22, 1886.[5] He held the college's presidency until 1893.[6][7]

Sill served as United States Consul General (ambassador) to Korea from 1894 to 1897, during a time that has been described as “one of the most turbulent periods of Korean history. Graduating from University of Michigan helped him to acquire the position as many of the members of the Department of State were alumni of the university.[8] During his tenure as Consul-General, Korea went through the Sino-Japanese War, the Gabo Reform, the murder of Queen Myeongseong, and King Gojong's refuge in the Russian legation.[9][10] He sought to maintain the independence of Korea and check the increasing Japanese influence by consistently asking America to enforce Japanese to withdraw from Korea. When Japanese became the victor of the war against China, Sill provided the American legation as a refuge for anti-Japanese officials.[8]

Sill Hall at Eastern Michigan University, as Michigan State Normal is now known, is named for Sill.[7]