Daniel Bliss (August 17, 1823 in Georgia, Vermont, United States – July 27, 1916 in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon) was a Christian missionary from the United States and the founder of the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

Life and work

Born in the town of Georgia, Vermont, Daniel was one of seven children in his household. His parents were Loomis and Susanna Bliss. His mother died when Daniel was only nine years old. Bliss spent much of his youth in the state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He began to support himself at the age of sixteen mainly by

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, tanning, and tree grafting. He graduated from

Kingsville Academy Kingsville Academy was a school which was chartered in Kingsville, Ohio Kingsville is a census-designated place in central Kingsville Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The population was 824 at the 2020 census. It lies at the in ...

in 1848 and went on to attend

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

. Once he graduated from Amherst in 1852, Bliss went on to attend

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

to prepare for foreign and overseas missions. By October 1855, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

at Amherst and in November of the same year he was married to Abby Maria Wood. After being assigned to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

by the American Board, he and his wife sailed from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, in December 1855. By April 1856, they arrived at their destination in

Aley Aley () is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nickname "Bride of the Summ ...

, Lebanon. Bliss and his wife worked there for roughly one and a half years in a small school which had opened in 1843. Under his direction, the school rose into prominence in the area. From October 1858 until 1862, Bliss was in charge of a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

in a town just north of Aley called Souk-al-Gharb. He also studied

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

during this time. His success there led the Syrian mission to open a new college in Lebanon. Bliss got the project chartered in 1864 by the

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and raised funds in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Once he had accumulated enough money, he founded the

Syrian Protestant College The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs lead ...

. The school, which opened in

in 1866, later came to be known as the

(AUB). Bliss was named president of the college he had founded and also took on the responsibilities of

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Bible and Ethics. Having been one of its prime movers, he returned to the United States, arriving in New York in September 1862. He met with the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

where he spoke in support of the resolutions adopted in Beirut. The Hon. William E. Dodge, impressed by Bliss's presentation, helped him form a board of

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

. A certificate of incorporation was drafted on April 18, 1863, and on April 24, 1863, a charter for establishing a college was granted by the legislature of the State of New York. A building in the AUB and a well-known street in Beirut were named after him. He resigned in 1902 and was succeeded by his son, Howard Bliss. Daniel Bliss died on campus on July 27, 1916. He published several tracts, and is the author of a “Mental Philosophy” and “Natural Philosophy” in Arabic.

Notes

External links

Bliss Family Papers
from the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
AUB site

*
The Reminiscences of Daniel Bliss
' (Edited and Supplemented by His Eldest Son), New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1920 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Daniel 1823 births 1916 deaths American Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Syria American University of Beirut people Amherst College alumni American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire Protestant missionaries in Lebanon Protestant missionaries in the Ottoman Empire