Charles Wilson Harris (1771 – January 15, 1804) was briefly presiding professor (equivalent of a modern-day

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

) of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

during 1796.

Biography

Early life

Charles Wilson Harris was born in 1771. He was the son of Col. Robert Harris (1737-1803) of Poplar Tent and Mary Wilson. His elementary education was at a classical school conducted in association with the Poplar Tent Presbyterian Church, of which his father was a presiding elder. He then attended the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

) and was awarded the Mathematical Oration at his 1792 graduation.

Career

Harris was a close associate of

William Richardson Davie William Richardson Davie (June 20, 1756 – November 29, 1820) was a Founding Father of the United States, military officer during the Revolutionary War, and 10th Governor of North Carolina, from 1798–1799. A member of the Federalist Part ...

. He was Davie's law clerk and assumed Davie's legal caseload during the latter's absences from Halifax, North Carolina when he was governor and ambassador to France. He served as the second presiding professor (now known as university president) of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1796.

Personal life

He was a freemason. He never got married.

Death

He died of consumption on January 15, 1804.

References

1771 births 1804 deaths People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Princeton University alumni American Freemasons Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in North Carolina {{US-academic-administrator-stub