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Henry Durant (June 18, 1802 in
Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord, Massachusetts, Concord and about southwest of Lowell ...
– January 22, 1875 in
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
) was an American minister and educator. He was the founding president of the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
. Durant also served as
Mayor of Oakland The city of Oakland, California, was founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1854. The city uses a strong mayor form of government. Until the early 20th century, all Oakland mayors served terms of only one or two years each. Oakland mayors now serv ...
.SF Chronicle, July 25, 2010. "Where to Find Celebrities' Resting Places" by Charlie Wells


Biography

Durant attended
Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...
and the
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 ...
in
Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...
; he then studied for the ministry at
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
, from which he graduated in 1827. In 1833 he was ordained pastor of the
Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
of
Byfield, Massachusetts Byfield is a village (also referred to as a "parish") in the town of Newbury, Massachusetts, Newbury, in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It borders West Newbury, Massachusetts, West Newbury, Georgetown, ...
. In the same year, he married Mary E. Buffett of Stanwich, Connecticut.


Career

After serving in the ministry for 16 years, he resigned his pastorate and became headmaster of the Dummer Academy (today known as
The Governor's Academy The Governor's Academy (informally known as Governor's or Govs) is a co-educational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Byfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1763 in memory of Massachusetts governor William Dummer, Governor's is ...
) in Byfield. He held that position from 1849 to 1852. In 1853, Durant came to California and founded the Contra Costa Academy, as a private school for boys. In 1855, the school was chartered as the College of California. The college later disincorporated and merged with the state of California's Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College to create the University of California in 1868. Durant was elected the first president of the University of California on August 16, 1870, and resigned only two years later in order to relinquish the position to a younger man ( Daniel Coit Gilman). In 1873, the University of California moved to its new Berkeley campus. Old age did not keep Durant from being elected the 16th mayor of Oakland, although he only served for three years before dying in office, on January 22, 1875.


See also

* Hotel Durant


References


Biography at UC Berkeley
1802 births 1875 deaths Phillips Academy alumni Leaders of the University of California, Berkeley Yale Divinity School alumni University of California regents University of California, Berkeley Mayors of Oakland, California People from Acton, Massachusetts Yale College alumni 19th-century mayors of places in California {{US-academic-administrator-1800s-stub