President. John Rennie Blake Records, 1870-1884

Sub-Group

Identifier: RG02-06

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The correspondence consists primarily of Blake's letters to the Board of Trustees concerning relations between the college and the Presbyteries. It also includes Blake's letter of resignation in 1884. The notebooks contains descriptions of Davidson College during the Civil War and research notes on energy, the Holtz machine, and astronomy.

Dates

Creation: 1870-1884

Creator

President. Blake (Organization)

Biographical / Historical

John Rennie Blake, 1825-1900, was born in Greenwood, SC. He attended the University of Georgia and Harvard's Lawrence Scientific School. Before coming to Davidson College, he taught at the Presbyterian Female School in Greensboro, GA and LaGrange Synodical College, TN. Elected professor of Natural Philosophy at Davidson in 1861, Blake remained on the faculty until 1885. After the death of President McPhail in 1871, the Board of Trustees authorized the faculty to elect a chairman. Blake was chosen and served as chair until 1877. The position of Chairman of the faculty replaced the college presidency for those years. In 1877, the Board decided to restore the office of president and elected Andrew D. Hepburn. Since Blake was not an ordained minister he was not eligible for the presidency. He remained on faculty, serving as vice-president and teaching courses in Natural Philosophy and Astronomy until 1885.