Sir Nathan Bodington (29 May 1848 – 12 May 1911) was the first Vice Chancellor of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

having been Principal and Professor of Greek at the Yorkshire College since 1883.''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' accessed 25 July 2009 From 1897 to 1901 he was also Vice-Chancellor of the Victoria University. Bodington was born in

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, where he studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He was a teacher at Manchester Grammar School and

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, Professor of classics at

Mason College Mason Science College was a university college in Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of Birmingham University. Founded in 1875 by industrialist and philanthropist Sir Josiah Mason, the college was incorporated into the University o ...

, (which later became Birmingham University), and Fellow of

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

.Draper, W. (1912) ''Sir Nathan Bodington: a memoir''. London: Macmillan Bodington was responsible for consolidating the Yorkshire College's position within the Victoria University and later, when the fragmentation of members occurred, for obtaining the charter for the separate university in Leeds. His demeanour around the 1890s was described by a colleague thus:C. M. Gillespie, 'A Retrospect', ''The University of Leeds Review'', 1 (1948–49), 19–24 (p. 21).

though transplanted from an Oxford which was then almost exclusively devoted to classical studies, he adapted himself wonderfully to the direction of an institution which, always short of money, appealed for funds almost entirely on the ground of its utility to local industry. In public he has a formal, somewhat academic, manner, which was against him in his dealings with City Councillors and businessmen and suchlike: but in private he unbent and was excellent company, with a keen sense of humour. His greying beard made him look ten years older than he really was ..Bodington was at his best in the chair at meetings of the Senate and other academic bodies, patient, courteous and impartial.

He was knighted in 1908.''London Gazette''
17 December 1908 He married Eliza, the daughter of Sir John Barran, on 8 August 1907, but they had no children. As remembered by C. M. Gillespire, 'in his own house he was a charming host, but not until his happy marriage late in life was he able fully to indulge his gifts of hospitality'. Bodington died in Headingley,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, on 12 May 1911. In 1961, the university opened

Bodington Hall Bodington Hall was the largest hall of residence of the University of Leeds, in Leeds, England. It was opened in 1961 and closed in 2013. The site still contains the university's main playing fields. Known as ''Bod'' within the university, it wa ...

its largest hall of residence, named after him.Leodis
Bodington Hall, Adel Lane A housing estate on this site is now called Bodington Manor.''Yorkshire Evening Post'' 4 September 2013
Homes set to be built on former university site in Leeds as market recovers From 1995 to 2012, Leeds University's virtual learning environment, a Leeds-built open-source system, was known as the Nathan Bodington Building.

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