John Collins Bryant (1821–1901) was an American physician, author, and the co-founder and namesake of Bryant & Stratton College and

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1731, it includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Spragueville, Stillwater, an ...

. Bryant was born on December 21, 1821, in Ebley in

Gloucestershire, England Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the ...

, to John Bryant, a farmer, and Pamela (Collins) Bryant. Bryant immigrated to Ohio from England with his family in 1829, and his father acquired a farm in Ohio. During the winters Bryant attended the local public schools in Ohio and then Norwalk Seminary, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

school, and then he graduated from

Cleveland Medical College Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

in 1846 before practicing medicine in

Amherst, Ohio Amherst ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located west of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 12,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The original village, which e ...

. Bryant married Hannah M. Clarke on May 21, 1851, and they had three children. Along with his brother, Henry Beadman Bryant, and his brother-in-law,

Henry Dwight Stratton Henry Dwight Stratton (1824–1867) was an author and co-founder and namesake of Bryant & Stratton College. Henry Dwight Stratton was born on August 24, 1824, in Amherst, Ohio, and attended the public schools in Amherst and then attended Oberlin C ...

, Bryant graduated from Folsom Business College in Cleveland, Ohio. The trio later purchased the school from the owner, Ezekiel G. Folsom, who founded his school in 1848. Bryant & Stratton College was officially organized in 1854 to provide practical workplace education, and was formerly known as Bryant and Stratton Business Institute. In addition to purchasing the Cleveland school, Bryant and Stratton established a number of business schools that operated under the name of Bryant & Stratton & Co's chain of International Commercial Colleges in most major US cities. By 1864 as many as 50 schools existed. John C. Bryant served as president of the Buffalo Bryant and Stratton Business College from 1860 until he died in 1901. After Henry Bryant's death, John sold all of his interest in the schools, but the one in Buffalo. He died on November 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York.John F. Ohles, ''Biographical Dictionary of American Educators, Volume 1'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1978), pg. 198

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, John Collins 1821 births 1901 deaths University and college founders People from Amherst, Ohio Physicians from Buffalo, New York People from Stroud English emigrants to the United States * 19th-century American physicians Physicians from New York (state) Physicians from Ohio