John Alexander Anderson (June 26, 1834 – May 18, 1892) was a six-term

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

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(1879–1891), and the second President of Kansas State Agricultural College (1873–1879). Anderson was born in

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in 1834, and graduated from

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, in 1853. His father, William Caldwell Anderson, served as the fourth President of Miami University during this time, holding that position from 1849 to 1854. Future

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Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

was his roommate for a time in college.

Church career and University Presidency

Following graduation, John Anderson entered the

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ministry, and was ordained four years later. His first charge was located in

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, where he served until 1862 when he was appointed chaplain of the 3rd California Volunteer Infantry. In this capacity, he accompanied General Patrick Edward Connor and the regiment on its expedition to

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. Alexander resigned from this role in the spring of 1863, and he was subsequently appointed relief agent, United States Sanitary Commission, a post he held until 1867. In 1868 Anderson came to Kansas as pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Junction City. He soon became a vocal critic of the fact that Kansas State Agricultural College, the

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in neighboring

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, was focusing on providing a classic

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education rather than a practical agricultural education. Partly as a result of his advocacy, the Kansas Board of Regents appointed Anderson the second President of Kansas State on September 1, 1873. Anderson's tenure was marked by pedagogical reform in which academic emphasis was subordinated to a more practical approach to applied agriculture.

Political career

Anderson was elected as a Republican to the

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in 1878, but he continued to serve as head of Kansas State until September, 1879, when he resigned. He was reelected to congress three times, before failing to receive the Republican nomination in 1886. Anderson promptly switched from the Republican party to running as an Independent Republican and won reelection anyway. In 1888 he was elected to his final term, again as a Republican. After his Congressional career ended, President Benjamin Harrison, his former college roommate, appointed Anderson

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general to

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in 1891. However, Anderson grew ill in the execution of his duties and died in

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in 1892 while in transit back to the United States.

Legacy

* Anderson Hall, the administrative building on the campus of Kansas State University, is named in his honor. The building, which was under construction during his tenure at Kansas State, is listed on the

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References

* Williard, Julius T. (1940) ''History of Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science''.

External links

Brief biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John Alexander Presidents of Kansas State University Miami University alumni Politicians from Manhattan, Kansas United States Sanitary Commission people 1834 births 1892 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Egypt 19th-century American diplomats Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Phi Delta Theta members 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives