Charles Daniel Tenney (June 29, 1857 – March 14, 1930) was an American educator and diplomat to China. He was the first President of Peiyang University in Tientsin (

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

), China from 1895 through 1906 and acted as Secretary of the Tientsin Provisional Government from 1900 to 1902. After ending his service to the Chinese Government, Tenney served as Secretary to the American Legations in Peking (

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

) and Nanking (

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Early life and education

Charles Tenney was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 29, 1857 to Rev. Daniel Tenney and Mary Adams Parker. After receiving his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Dartmouth College in 1878 and 1879, he entered divinity school at Oberlin Theological Seminary. He was assigned by the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

(ABCFM) to Shanxi, China and moved there with his wife, Anne Runcie Jerrel, as part of the " Oberlin Band" in 1882.

Life in China

Tenney lived as a missionary in Shanxi for four years, during which time he founded a primary school. Resigning from the ABCFM in 1886, he moved to Tianjin, Hebei province where he became tutor to the sons of influential statesman and reformer

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

. Tenney founded the Tianjin Anglo-Chinese College and acted as principal of that institution beginning in 1886. When the Chinese Government opened the Imperial Chinese University in Tianjin in 1895 it selected Tenney as president, and he served in this role until 1906. He was then appointed as Director of Chinese Government Students in the United States.

Life as an American Diplomat

Tenney became the Chinese Secretary of the American Legation at Peking in 1908 and American Delegate to the Joint International Opium Commission at Shanghai in 1909. Following the founding of the Revolutionary Government by Sun Yat-sen in 1912, Tenney was sent to the newly appointed capital at Nanjing as Consul. He was promoted to Counselor of Legation in 1919 and was acting head of affairs for the American Embassy until 1920.

Death

Tenney retired in 1921 and returned to the United States, making his home in Palo Alto, California. He made a return trip to China in 1923 where he suffered from a stroke. He died in Palo Alto in 1930.

Works

Geography of Asia
(1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tenney, Charles Daniel American educators American diplomats 1857 births 1930 deaths