Francis Landey Patton

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Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield as principal
Succeeded by	J. Ross Stevenson
Personal details
Born	(1843-01-22)January 22, 1843 Warwick Parish, Bermuda
Died	November 26, 1932(1932-11-26) (aged 89) Hamilton, Bermuda
Signature

Francis Landey Patton (January 22, 1843 – November 25, 1932) was a Bermudan-American educator,

In 1871, Patton moved to Chicago to become minister of the Jefferson Park Presbyterian Church, Chicago (1874–1881). From 1872 to 1881, he was also a professor at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. He wrote The Inspiration of the Scriptures (1869), and Summary of Christian Doctrine (1874).^[1]

Patton was opposed to the spread of

]

President of Princeton University, 1888–1902

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In 1888, he was elected president of the College of New Jersey (which in 1896 became Princeton University), replacing out-going president James McCosh. His appointment was criticized by some alumni, who noted that Patton was not an American citizen, while some feared he would harangue students with John Knox-style sermons. He won over a large number of the alumni with a speech given in New York in 1888, in which he remarked "I am not prepared to say that it is better to have gone and loafed than never to have gone at all, but I do believe in the genius loci; and I sympathize with Sir Joshua Reynolds when he says, 'that there is around every seminary of learning, an atmosphere of floating knowledge where every one can imbibe something peculiar to his own original conceptions.'" The phrase "Better to have gone and loafed than never to have gone at all" was often quoted by proponents of the so-called "Gentleman's C." Patton was a popular president, and his class in Ethics was one of the most popular on campus.

During Patton's time as university president, Princeton more than doubled in size, growing from 600 students in 1888 to 1,300 students in 1902. Patton appointed many prominent Princeton professors, including:

In 1891, Dr.

Although Patton was popular as an academic, a theologian, and a public speaker, he was not a gifted administrator. In the 1890s, clerical control over Princeton waned, and more and more businessmen and lawyers were elected as Trustees of Princeton University. Dissatisfied with Patton's management of the university, in 1902, the Trustees voted to replace Patton as president, naming Woodrow Wilson as his successor. During his time at Princeton, Patton was elected to the American Philosophical Society (1897).^[3]

President of Princeton Theological Seminary, 1902–1913

Patton thus became president of

He died in Hamilton, Bermuda on November 25, 1932.^[6]

Notes

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Patton, Francis Landey". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 937–938.

External links

New International Encyclopedia article about "Francis Landey Patton

".

• Works by Francis Landey Patton at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Francis Landey Patton at Internet Archive
• Princeton biography
• Addresses commemorating Patton's appointment at McCormick Theological Seminary, 1873
• The world's edition of the great Presbyterian conflict: Patton vs. Swing.: Both sides of the question, 1874
• Presbyterian Principles by Francis L. Patton, 1875
• The Presbyterian Review, 1880-89, made available by Princeton Theological Seminary