Andrew Gray (died 1849) was a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

politician, a member of the Delaware Senate from 1817 to 1821. He was from Mill Creek Hundred, in

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

. He was a trustee of the Academy of Newark, and in 1817 sponsored a bill to allow it to raise $50,000 by lottery in order to raise funds to establish a college. The lottery did not go ahead, and in January 1821 Gray sponsored a second bill to establish a college, as "Delaware College", to be funded by a tax on steamboats and stagecoaches. The prospect of these new taxes was exceptionally unpopular, and Gray was defeated by an anti-college "Independent Democratic" ticket in the 1821 elections by a 2-1 margin.The University of Delaware: A History, Chapter 2
/ref> When Newark College was finally established in 1833, his three sons were sent there. He was appointed president of the trustees in 1839, succeeding

Thomas Clayton Thomas Clayton (July 1777 – August 21, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician from Dover in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. He served in the Delawa ...

, and was replaced by

Eliphalet Wheeler Gilbert Eliphalet Wheeler Gilbert (December 19, 1793 – July 31, 1853) was an American Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Delaware College (now University of Delaware) from 1834 to 1835 and from 1840 to 1847. Biography Gi ...

in April 1841. After being ousted as president, he sought an investigation of the fledgling college, accusing the trustees of financial mismanagement. On February 14, 1843, he presented a petition, stating that the college had been effectively taken over by the

New School Presbyterians New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and that it was heavily in debt. In order to allow it to survive into the future, he argued, it should be closed until the income from the endowment was sufficient to maintain it; otherwise, the endowment fund would quickly be spent on operating costs until there was nothing left. After some debate; his petition was rejected, and the college remained open.The University of Delaware: A History, Chapter 3
/ref>

References

1849 deaths Delaware state senators University of Delaware people Year of birth unknown Delaware Democratic-Republicans {{Delaware-politician-stub