DePauw University - Mirage Yearbook (Greencastle, IN)

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five succeeding years' the course of his study was seriously in- terfered with. At the age of seventeen, however, he com- menced teaching and for three years taught in the public schools of Franklin county. Indiana. But he was not destined to remain longin lower positions. In 1863 elected to tl1e Chair of Mathematics in Brookville College, his rise was rapid. Li- censed to exhort in '64, admitted to the conference in '65, in '69 he was elected to the presidency of the insitution. On the 24th day of-Iune, 1869, he was married to Miss Orra Poundstone of Brookville, Ind. n Resigning his position in Brookville College in the spring of 1872, he immediately accepted the vice-presidency and Chair of Mathematics in Moore's Hill College, a situation he retained during the four ensuing years. Elected to the presidency of Moore's Hill in 1876, he served most satisfactorily in that ca- pacity until 1882, his work thus far in direct connection with the' institutionhbeing interrupted only by a year of '79-'80, on leave of absence in Europe, spent partly in travel and partly in Paris studying music and the French language. Remaining as president until 1882, he resignedg an act, re- gretted alike by students, citizens, faculty and trustees because entailing theloss of his untiring efforts, to which much of the success of Moore's Hill College had been due. In June of '82 Dr. John accepted the Chair of Mathematics in De Pauw University and still retains the position. V His success and progress in these larger fields of educational work has been characteristic ofhim-rapid and marked. Clear, cautious and safe from the moment of his first connection with DePauw University, he has been recognized as a prominent counsellor and adviser in its affairs. His ability as an execu- tive and administrative oflicer appreciated by all and recog- nized by trustees, he was successively elected vice-president in 1885, acting president in June of '89, and in December of the same year to the highest place in the gift of the institution. Since 1867 he has been a member of the S. E. Indiana Con- ference. For the year 1889 he served as president of the Indi- ana Academy of Science. ifzsiiih.

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Our New President, the Students' Choice. SK EVER in the history of De Pauw University have the trus- tees so nearly conformed to the wishes of the whole body of students, the citizens of Greencastle, and the friends of the University everywhere as in the election of Dr. P. D. John to the presidency. De Pauw never saw a happier day or students with more thankful hearts than that afternoon of the 12th of December, i889, when the wires brought us the news that the petition, signed by 800 students without a dissenting voice, had been granted. The spontaneous yet magnificent reception and ova- tion that awaited Dr. John on his return from the city con- firmed it. . - The long line of march that escorted the Students' Choice from the depot to the hall amid the tolling of bells, the roar of cannon, the happy glare of the bonfire, sweet strains of music, the rejoicing of citizens, the enthusiastic shouts and songs of students and later the wonderful throng in Meharry Hall, all but feebly tell of the universal enthusiasm and joy on the night when, as one of the speakers so happily expressed it, Green- castle had become indeed a veritable 'fjolinstownf' Truly no hero or public man ever had more loyal support or fuller and deeper love and confidence of his followers than the new president had inspired. Indeed Dr. John, by his reason, his love and his personal magnetism not only now sat enthroned, but had enthroned himselfin the hearts of all who knew him. Dr. P. D. John was born in Brookville, Franklin county, Nov. 25th, 1843. Owing to poor health and being unable in con- sequence to endure the close confinement of the school room he was compelled to leave school at the early age oftwelve. For the

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f Truly a remarkable career,-at 17 a country school teacher, at 20 a professor, at 26 president of Brookville College, at 33 president of Moore's Hill, and at the age of 47 called to the presidency of one of the largest and most magnificently ad- vanced Universities in the nation, recognized everywhere by educational men for the soundness of the educational principles to which he adheres and the ability with which he advocates them. Without the advantage of a college education, by his in- tense personal application he has attained a breadth of educa- tion equaled by few. Master of Latin, Greek and modern languages, mathematics, philosophy and political science, En- glish literature and oratory, it has well been said of him that he can go without preparation into any class room and come near- er to being at home on the subject treated than any man in the United States. But not only an able educator, Dr. John is a clear, forcible and eloquent speaker. Possessed of a rich strong voice, ofin- tense magnetism, of wonderfully keen and logical analysis, his comprehensive mind, his broad culture, his varied scholarship, his inspiring thought, all combined make of him the leading orator of Indiana and one of the Hrst preachers of the nation. But above all eulogy of rich and varied talents, of scholarly attainments, beyond the qualifications ofthe instructor, the lect- urer, the orator, molding and directing, giving color and life and form to all, stands a model Christian character. Absolute purity of motive, a sweet temperment, a deeply reverent spirit combined with those sterner elements of character that make of him H a mountain of granite, a veritable intellectual and moral Gibraltar -elements which all men admire and respect and emulate, go to make up the characteristics predominant in the new president of De Pauw University. H Take him for all in all he is a man, the right man in the right place, and we as students are proud of HIM.