Andrew Adgate Lipscomb (September 5, 1816 – November 23, 1890) was an American clergyman and educator. Lipscomb was born in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. As a young man, he entered the ministry of the

Methodist Protestant The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a Methodist denomination of Christianity that is based in the United States. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopti ...

church, joining the Maryland conference in 1835, and for some time was President of the Alabama conference. From 1842 to 1849 he was pastor of the Bibb Street Methodist Protestant Church in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, which was dedicated shortly after his arrival; he had solicited a move to Alabama because the climate was better suited for the pulmonary tuberculosis that had plagued him for a number of years. During his tenure in Montgomery he warned of the dangers of Irish immigration to the United States and the accompanying growth of

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in a book, ''Our Country: Its Danger and Duty'' (New York, 1844). He fared well in Montgomery as a preacher, providing for a family consisting of a wife, two children, and two sisters, and owning two slaves.Lipscomb 13. Compelled by tuberculosis to retire from the ministry, he founded in 1849 the Metropolitan Institute for Young Ladies at

. Lipscomb then served as the inaugural President (1856–1859) of the Tuskegee Female College of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(present-day

Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature a ...

in Montgomery, Alabama). From 1860 until his resignation in 1874, Lipscomb served as the Chancellor of the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Lipscomb was the first leader of UGA to have the title

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

instead of President. His tenure included a multi-year period (fall of 1863 through January 1866) during which the University was closed due to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Also, for the year preceding Lipscomb's Chancellorship (1859), the University had no presiding official (neither President nor Chancellor) between the time of President Church's resignation and Chancellor Lipscomb's start as the University underwent a comprehensive reorganization. His administration oversaw the construction of the library (currently the north half of the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building) in 1862 and Moore College in 1874. The offspring of Lipscomb and his first wife, Henrietta Blanche Richardson, also contributed to the University. Their son, Francis Adgate Lipscomb, was a faculty member of the English department. Their grandson, Judge Thomas F. Green, served as a law professor at UGA and as a member of the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gener ...

. Their great-grandson, Thomas F. Green Jr., also served as a faculty member of the Law School. Lipscomb Hall, a UGA

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

, is named in the former chancellor's honor. After Lipscomb's academic career, he wrote ''Studies in the Forty Days between Christ's Resurrection and Ascension'' (1885) and ''Studies Supplementary to the Studies in the Forty Days between Christ's Resurrection and Ascension'' (1886). He died in 1890 in Athens and was buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery in the same city.

References

Reed, Thomas Walter. ''History of the University of Georgia by Thomas Walter Reed; Frontmatter and Chapter I: The Beginnings of the University''.
Athens: University of Georgia, ca. 1949.

University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
History of Huntingdon College.
*

External links

Photograph of Andrew A. Lipscomb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipscomb, Andrew A. 1816 births 1890 deaths Huntingdon College people Presidents of the University of Georgia People from Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) Burials at Oconee Hill Cemetery