Henry Dunster (November 26, 1609 (baptized) – February 27, 1658/59) was an Anglo-American
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
clergyman and the first president of
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
. Brackney says Dunster was "an important precursor" of the Baptist denomination in America, especially regarding infant baptism, soul freedom, religious liberty, congregational governance, and a radical biblicism.
Life
He was born at
Bolholt,
Bury, Lancashire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to Henry Dunster.
Dunster studied at
Magdalene College, Cambridge as a
sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined jo ...
, specializing in oriental languages and earning a reputation as a Hebrew scholar. He earned a bachelor's degree (1630) and his master's degree (1634) and taught at Magdalene. He served as Headmaster of
Bury Grammar School and was a
curate at
Saint Mary's Church in
Bury.
Sponsored by Rev.
Richard Mather
Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians.
Biography
Mather was born in Lowton in the p ...
, Dunster immigrated to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
in 1640. When
Nathaniel Eaton
Nathaniel Eaton (17 September 1609 − 11 May 1674) was the first Headmaster of Harvard, President designate, and builder of Harvard's first College, Yard, and Library, in 1636.
Nathaniel was also the uncle of Samuel Eaton (one of the seven foun ...
was dismissed in 1639 as master of the recently established
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
, in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, Dunster was appointed as his successor. Thus on August 27, 1640 Dunster became the first
president of Harvard
The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoi ...
. ''(For a discussion of Dunster's choice of the title "president" see
President § Description.)'' He modeled Harvard's educational system on that of the English schools such as
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
and
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
. He set up as well as taught Harvard's entire curriculum alone for many years, graduating the first college class in America, the Class of 1642. From 1649-1650 Dunster also served as interim pastor at
The First Parish in Cambridge until the accession of Jonathan Mitchel. Historians have generally treated Dunster well in terms of his theological beliefs and educational abilities. Samuel Eliot Morison, the best-known historian of Harvard's history, wrote that Harvard College "might have followed her first patron to an early death and oblivion but for the faith, courage and intelligence of Henry Dunster." Dunster held Harvard together financially during a difficult economic downturn in New England that began soon after his arrival. He later had some conflict with the college's treasurer,
Thomas Danforth
Thomas Danforth (baptized November 20, 1623 – November 5, 1699) was a politician, magistrate, and landowner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A conservative Puritan, he served for many years as one of the colony's councilors and magistrates, ...
, who called him the "de facto treasurer." However, Dunster indeed the "de facto treasurer" of Harvard for nearly a decade. With the approval of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay, he later set up the first corporation charter in America, the Charter of 1650, and named Danforth as the new treasurer. The corporate charter that Dunster established governs Harvard University to this day—an astounding testament to his leadership and governing skills. On December 6, 2010, Harvard announced its intention to expand the membership of the Corporation from a body of seven members (as first set up by Dunster) to thirteen members.
When Dunster abandoned the Puritan view of
infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
in favor of
believer's baptism in 1653/54, he provoked a controversy that highlighted two distinct approaches to dealing with dissent in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. The colony's Puritan leaders, whose own religion was born of dissent from mainstream Church of England, generally worked for reconciliation with members who questioned matters of Puritan theology but responded much more harshly to outright rejection of Puritanism. Dunster's conflict with the colony's magistrates began when he failed to have his infant son baptized, believing that only adults should be baptized. Earnest efforts to restore Dunster to Puritan
orthodoxy failed, and his
heterodoxy proved untenable to colony leaders who had entrusted him, in his job as Harvard's president, to uphold the colony's religious mission. Thus, he represented a threat to the stability of society. Dunster exiled himself in 1654/55 and moved to nearby
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the passengers on the ...
to become the minister of the First Church in
Scituate, Massachusetts. Dunster died there on February 27, 1659 (or 1658 – Old Style calendar).
[Timothy L. Wood, "'I Spake the Truth in the Feare of God': the Puritan Management of Dissent During the Henry Dunster Controversy," ''Historical Journal of Massachusetts'' 2005 33(1): 1-19,]
Family and legacy
Dunster married twice; both his wives were named Elizabeth. His first wife was
Elizabeth (Harris) Glover, the widow of Joseph Glover. They married on June 21, 1641. She died in 1643, leaving Dunster with land and property, including the first printing press in the colony, and leaving him shared responsibility for her estate and her five children by her first marriage. Dunster married Elizabeth Atkinson (1627–1690) in 1644. Together they had five children.
Dunster House
Dunster House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. Built in 1930, it is one of the first two dormitories at Harvard University constructed under President Abbott Lawrence Lowell's House Plan and one of the sev ...
, one of the twelve residential houses of
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, is named after Henry Dunster.
References
Dunster, Henry, 1609-1659? Papers of Henry Dunster and the Dunster and Glover families : an inventory* Samuel Dunster, ''Henry Dunster and His Descendants'' (1876)
xhaustive biography by a direct descendant, cf. especially pp. 1–19*
Samuel Eliot Morison
Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...
, ''Builders of the Bay Colony'' (1930)
hapter entitled "Henry Dunster, President of Harvard", pp. 183–216* William Thaddeus Harris, ''Epitaphs From the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge'' (1845) p. 169
enry Dunster, "d. 2.27.1658"* Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters. The New England historical and genealogical register, Volume 61, New England Historic Genealogical Society
* Melnick, Arseny James
''America's Oldest Corporation and First CEO: Harvard and Henry Dunster''(2008)
External links
Primary sources
Links to digital facsimiles of th
Papers of Henry Dunster and the Dunster and Glover Familiesheld in the Harvard University Archives.
Biography and genealogy
* Samuel Dunster
Dunster, Henry Dunster and his descendants.Central Falls, R.I. : E.L. Freeman & Co., 1876.
* Chaplin, Jeremiah, 1813–1886
Life of Henry Dunster : first president of Harvard College.Boston : J. R. Osgood and Company, 1872.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunster, Henry
1609 births
1659 deaths
Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Presidents of Harvard University
People from Bury, Greater Manchester
Kingdom of England emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony
People from colonial Boston
People of colonial Massachusetts
American Puritans
People educated at Bury Grammar School