Dr. Laban Lacy Rice (October 14, 1870 – February 13, 1973) was an educator, author, and president of
Cumberland University. He was an international authority on relativity.
Early life
He was born in
Dixon, Kentucky, to Laban Marchbanks Rice, a
Confederate veteran and prominent tobacco merchant, and his wife, Martha Lacy. He was an older brother of the poet
Cale Young Rice
Cale Young Rice (December 7, 1872 – January 24, 1943) was an American poet and Playwdramatist. He was professor of English at Cumberland University. His opera, ''Yolanda of Cyprus,'' was widely received.
Life and career
Rice was born in Dixon, ...
. Lacy Rice grew up with his family in
Evansville, Indiana, and
Louisville, Kentucky.
He received his
BA,
MA, and
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
degrees from
Cumberland University.
While a student at Cumberland, he was one of five men to found the Theta chapter of
Kappa Sigma Fraternity on October 7, 1887. Rice married Blanche Alexander Buchanan in
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metropolit ...
, and was the father of two daughters, Katherine and Anne. After his retirement, he made his home in
Warwick, Virginia.
Career
He served as a professor of English at Cumberland University, as headmaster at
Castle Heights Military Academy, and as associate editor of the ''
Cumberland Presbyterian
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian denomination spawned by the Second Great Awakening.Matthew H. Gore, The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988, (Memphis, Tennessee: Joint Heritage Committee, 2000 ...
'' prior to being elected as president of
Cumberland University. He also founded a private girls' camp called ''Camp Nakanawa'' and was an amateur astronomer. The Rice Observatory on the Cumberland University campus is named after him. In 1902 he along with Edward E. Weir, PhD (who also taught with him at Cumberland University) were on faculty at the Lebanon College for Young Ladies.
His birthplace in
Webster County, Kentucky, is designated by Historic Marker #1508, which reads:
Death
He died in
St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1973, at the age of 102, and was buried at the
Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.
References
External links
Rice family pageRice family home on Dixon, KY site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Laban
1870 births
1973 deaths
Heads of universities and colleges in the United States
People from Webster County, Kentucky
Writers from Evansville, Indiana
Writers from Louisville, Kentucky
American centenarians
Men centenarians