John Howard Harris (April 24, 1847 – April 4, 1925) was president of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

from 1889 to 1919.

Formative years

John Howard Harris was born in

Indiana County, Pennsylvania Indiana County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the west central part of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,246. Its county seat is Indiana. Indiana County comprises the Indiana, PA Mi ...

, on April 24, 1847. Harris began teaching when he was 15 years old; however, he soon left to serve in 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 ...

as a member of Company F of the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. His regiment was sent to guard the B. and O. Railroad in West Virginia, which had been partly destroyed by the Confederates at the time of Lee’s invasion of the North, and was an important artery of traffic. When his term of service ended, he returned to teaching, but because of an urgent appeal for more troops by President

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in August 1864, he returned to the service and became a sergeant in Company H, 206th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, which was sent to Richmond, Virginia to hold the Confederates, while Grant worked along the left flank and cut off the city. Following the war, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University at Lewisburg Bucknell University is a private liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Freeman College of Management, and the Coll ...

in 1869. While at Bucknell, he was a member of the Theta Alpha honor society and the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity. He received the degree Master of Arts from Bucknell in 1872, and in later years

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

awarded him a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Dickinson and Colgate then each conferred upon him the degree of LL.D., while Bucknell made him a Doctor of Civil Law in 1924.

Academic career

In 1889, Harris was inaugurated as president of Bucknell University, a post he held for thirty years, the longest tenure in the school's history. His presidency saw a large growth in enrollment and expansion of academic buildings and departments.

Death and legacy

Harris died at his home in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, on April 4, 1925. Harris Hall, a dormitory on Bucknell's campus, was named in his honor two years after his death.

References

External links

Harris, John Howard, ''Inaugural address as president of Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa: June 27, 1889: with salutary address by C.B. Ripley'' (1889)Harris, John Howard, and Harris, Mary Belle, ''Thirty years as president of Bucknell: with baccalaureate and other addresses'', Press of W. F. Roberts Company (1926)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, John Howard Presidents of Bucknell University Bucknell University alumni 1847 births 1925 deaths