Richard McIlwaine (May 18, 1835 – August 9, 1913) was the eleventh President of

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

from 1883 to 1904. He wrote an autobiographical account of his life experiences titled ''Memories of Three Score Years and Ten''.

Early life

Richard McIlWaine was born in

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, of Scotch Irish descent. His father, Archibald Graham McIlwaine, was a mogul in

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brokerage. He attended Hampden–Sydney College alongside his brothers, J. Finley McIlwaine (graduating in 1858 and a trustee from 1866 to 1870) and Archibald Graham McIlwaine Jr. (graduating in 1865). He was an 1853 alumnus of the college at the age of 19. Their father was a major benefactor to the college, donating $5000 in 1859 ($142,857 in 2014 dollars), "the largest single cash gift to the College to that date and for over thirty years after". He then went on to study at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, where, in 1855, he was a founding brother of

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

. He also studied at the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

and the

Free Church College Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of ...

of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was licensed by the East Hanover presbytery in 1857.

Career

McIlwaine preached in Farmville and Lynchburg until 1872. In 1872, he was elected secretary and treasurer of the home and foreign missions committee of the Southern Presbyterian church. Around 1882, was secretary of home missions, a position he resigned from after being elected to the presidency of Hampden–Sydney College in 1883. As president, he increased the student body from 74 to 154 by 1892. He also helped to greatly increase the college's endowment, and a memorial building was erected in his honor. In 1874, he received from Southwestern Presbyterian University (now Rhodes College) the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1902, he became a member of the Commonwealth convention that was called to revise the state constitution, and was also the chairman of the committee on schools. In his letter of resignation from presidency of Hampden–Sydney, McIlwaine wrote, McIlwaine's nephew Henry Read McIlwaine graduated from Hampden–Sydney College in 1885 and with a Ph.D. from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1893. Henry returned to Hampden–Sydney in 1893 to serve as professor of English and history until 1907. In 1907, he was appointed State Librarian for the Virginia State Library, a position he held until his death.

Death

McIlwaine died on August 9, 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIlwaine, Richard 1830s births 1914 deaths People from Petersburg, Virginia Hampden–Sydney College alumni University of Virginia alumni Union Presbyterian Seminary alumni Presidents of Hampden–Sydney College American theologians American Presbyterians Presbyterian Church in the United States members