Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History

Sauer, Anne

Branco, Jessica

Bennett, John

Crowley, Zachary

2000

Leonard, Charles Hall, 1822-1918

 

Charles H. Leonard (1822-1918), G1869, was the second dean of the Tufts Divinity School (1891-1910) and grandfather of Tufts president Leonard Carmichael. During his forty-nine years at Tufts, Leonard made a deep and lasting impression upon the morale, scholarship, and standards of the divinity school and Tufts College.

Leonard was born in Northwood, New Hampshire, on September 16, 1822, and moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts, with his family during his childhood. He attended Haverhill public schools, Atkinson Academy in New Hampshire, and Bradford Seminary. Before entering the ministry, Leonard taught in the school house made famous by Whittier in his poem, "Snow Bound." Although he was inclined toward the Universalist ministry, no universalistic theology school was accessible to Leonard, so he chose to attend the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York, studying for two years under Thomas J. Sawyer.

Following his training, Leonard became pastor the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts, from 1848-70. His congregation, especially the Sunday school, grew remarkably. In 1848, he married Phoebe Basset, who died, after having three children, in 1872. In 1857, Leonard established Children's Day, the second Sunday in June, which was annually observed and eventually adopted by most Protestant churches in the area. He also published a prayer book which was widely used by Universalist ministers and churches.

In 1869, Sawyer, who had by that time become the first dean of Tufts Divinity School, asked Leonard to join him in Medford, as his assistant. For two years, Leonard continued to work both at Tufts and in Chelsea, but surrendered his position in the church after becoming the Professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology at the school in 1871.With Sawyer's retirement from active service, Leonard became the informal leader of the school in 1884.Following Sawyer's full retirement in 1891, Leonard was appointed dean of the School of Theology, holding the position until 1910.

Leonard also served on the board of examiners for Harvard College and was a leader of the Ministers' Club, a group of ministers, primarily connected with educational institutions, which lived within a ten-mile radius of Boston. Tufts conferred upon him a master's degree in 1869, while St. Lawrence University presented him with a doctorate of sacred theology in 1881. Leonard died August 27, 1918.

Source: VF, A Short History of the Crane Theological School

 
 
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  • The encyclopedia seeks to capture more than 150 years of Tufts' achievements, societal contributions and outstanding alumni and faculty in concise entries. As a source of accurate factual information, the Encyclopedia can be used by anyone interested in the history of Tufts and of the people who have made it the unique institution it is.
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Numeric Entries
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Dame, Lorin Low, 1838-1903
Dana, Charles A., 1881-1975
Dana Laboratory, 1963
Daniel Ounjian Prize in Economics,
Davies, Caroline Stodder, 1864-1939
Davies House, 1894
De Florez Prize in Human Engineering, 1964
de Pacheco, Kaye MacKinnon, ca. 1910-ca. 1985
Dean Hall, 1887-1963
Dean, Oliver, 1783-1871
Dearborn, Heman Allen, 1831-1897
Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, 1893
Department of Anesthesia, 1970
Department of Art and Art History, 1930
Department of Biochemistry, 1893
Department of Chemistry, 1882
Department of Community Health, 1930
Department of Dermatology, 1897
The Department of Economics, 1946
Department of Medicine, 1893
Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology
Department of Neurology, 1893
Department of Neuroscience, 1983
Department of Neurosurgery, 1951
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1893
Department of Ophthamology, 1893
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 1906
Department of Otolaryngology, 1895
Department of Pathology, 1893
Department of Pediatrics, 1930
Department of Pharmacology, 1915
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 1854
Department of Physiology, 1893
Department of Psychiatry, 1928
Department of Radiation Oncology, 1968
Department of Radiology, 1915
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 1955
Department of Surgery, 1893
Department of Urban and Environmental Policy, 1973
Department of Urology, 1910
Dental Health Sciences Building, 1969
Dewick, Cora Alma (Polk), 1875-1977
Dewick/MacPhie Dining Hall, 1959
Dickson Professorship of English and American History, 1913
Dirlam, Arland A., 1905-1979
Dog Cart, 1900
Dolbear, Amos Emerson, 1837-1910
Donald A. Cowdery Memorial Scholarship, 1946
Dr. Benjamin Andrews Professorship of Surgery, 1987
Dr. Philip E. A. Sheridan Prize, 1977
The Drug Bust, 1970
Dudley, Henry Watson, 1831-1906
Dugger, Edward Jr., 1919-75
Durkee, Frank W., 1861-1939
Durkee, Henrietta Noble Brown, 1871-1946
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