Brown University - Timeline Event
Founder
James Manning
Time Period
03-03-1764
Description
In 1764, the Philadelphia Baptist Association commissioned James Manning, with the cooperation of Isaac Backus and others, to found a college for Baptists in Providence, Rhode Island, which had been the epicenter of Baptists in America ever since the town's founding by Roger Williams a century prior. Brown University's charter, however, stipulated that the college board also include representatives from the Anglicans, Congregationalists, and Quakers.
Several members of the influential Brown family provided funding for the school's construction from their industrial, merchant, and slave-trading businesses. The irony of a Baptist school -- founded upon the ideals of individual soul liberty and congregational democracy -- being funded by money earned through slave-trading did not escape the family then, which was sharply divided on the issue; in the early 2000s, Brown attempted to make amends for its connection to the slave trade by setting up an endowment for urban education.
Several members of the influential Brown family provided funding for the school's construction from their industrial, merchant, and slave-trading businesses. The irony of a Baptist school -- founded upon the ideals of individual soul liberty and congregational democracy -- being funded by money earned through slave-trading did not escape the family then, which was sharply divided on the issue; in the early 2000s, Brown attempted to make amends for its connection to the slave trade by setting up an endowment for urban education.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Baptist Family: Other ARDA LinksBaptist Family: Religious Family Tree
Biographies
Backus, IsaacPhotographs
Brown University- Internet Archive- from Life, Times and Correspondence of James Manning by Reuben Aldridge Guild
James Manning portrait- Internet Archive- from Life, Times and Correspondence of James Manning by Reuben Aldridge Guild
University Hall, Brown University- Internet Archive- from History of Brown University by Reuben Aldridge Guild
Brown University- Internet Archive- from The Providence Plantations for Two Hundred and Fifty Years by Welcome Arnold Greene
Web Source(s)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brown_UniversityWeb Page Contributor
Paul MatzkoAffliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in History
