Charles Frederick Wishart (1870–1960) was a

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Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

churchman who was President of the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

from 1919 to 1944. In 1923 he defeated

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

to become

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the

Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) was the first national Presbyterian denomination in the United States, existing from 1789 to 1958. In that year, the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North Americ ...

at the height of the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy.

Biography

Charles F. Wishart was born in

Ontario, Ohio Ontario is a city in Richland County in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1834 on the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau, just west of the city of Mansfield. After being incorporated in 1958, Ontario became a heavy manufacturing center ...

on September 3, 1870, the youngest of twelve children. His mother was Sarah (Irvine) Wishart, and his father, the Rev. William Wishart (1821–1906), was a minister of the

United Presbyterian Church of North America The United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) was an American Presbyterian denomination that existed for one hundred years. It was formed on May 26, 1858 by the union of the Northern branch of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church ...

. On July 6, 1904, he married Josephine Long. They had three children, Sara (MacMillan), James Hunt, and Josephine Bosworth (Hayford).Biography of Rev. Charles F. Wishart in ''North Central Ohio Biographies''
/ref> Wishart received his early education in Ontario and Hayesville, Ohio. He graduated from

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a c ...

(Illinois) in 1894, where he was

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. He then took a graduate degree from

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area. History Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was formed ...

He was ordained as a minister of the United Presbyterian Church in 1897. In 1897, he founded 11th United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, serving as its pastor until 1910. He served as president of the National Young Peoples Christian Union in 1897. From 1910 to 1914, he was a professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topi ...

at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. In 1914, Wishart became the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago, joining the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America at this time. He held this position until 1919. During this time, he served as a lecturer at

McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. It shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, bordering the campus of the University of Chicago. A letter of intent was signed on May 5 ...

from 1915 to 1917. He was a member of the General Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America from 1917 to 1919. COWkaukehall

He left Chicago in 1919 to become president of the

, where he served until his retirement in 1944. He served as Moderator of the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

of Ohio in 1929. He died in 1960. Wishart Hall was built to honor him in 1966 with a gift from the citizens of Wayne County as a home for the Communications Department which also houses the Friedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic.''College of Wooster Catalog 2011–2012'
p. 330
.

Controversy over the teaching of evolution and contest with William Jennings Bryan

The college had taught the theory of evolution for several decades when Wishart became president, and the college library carved the name of learned men on a frieze in the main reading room that included

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, wikt:Πλάτων, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greeks, Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thou ...

, and Darwin. The instructor of the biology and zoology courses took pains to argue the compatibility of evolution and Christianity, but

denounced evolution when he came to visit Wooster in 1923, declaring that "it is better to know the Rock of Ages than the age of rocks." Wishart defended the teaching of evolution at the college, and the issue became heated. At the 1923

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met in May, 1923, in

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, the college's position and Bryan's disagreement with it were widely known. The ''New York Times'' reported that the nominations of Bryan and Wishart meant that "in a measure, the Presbyterian Church is being divided into evolutionists and anti-evolutionists." Bryan led on the first two ballots, but on the third ballot, two candidates from California withdrew and threw their support to Wishart, giving him a 451 to 427 victory.

Chief publications

*
The God of the Unexpected
' Wooster, OH: Wooster College Press, 1923 * ''The New Freedom in the Natural Order''. New York:

The Macmillan Company Macmillan Inc. is a defunct American book publishing company. Originally established as the American division of the British Macmillan Publishers, the two were later separated and acquired by other companies, with the remnants of the original A ...

, 1931 * ''The Bible in Our Day: a Symposium''. New York:

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

, 1935 * ''The Book of Day: A Study in the Revelation of St. John''. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1935

Notes

References

* Charles Frederick Wishart, Jean Snyder Felt, ''Memoirs of Charles Frederick Wishart, 1870-1960'' (S.l.: s.n., 1982). *Lucy Lilian Notestein, ''Wooster of the Middle West'' (Kent, Ohio:

Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

, 1971). *
Dr. Charles F. Wishart
''Wooster Daily Record'' (Monday 11 April 1960) reprint, ''Ancestry.co.uk''

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, Charles F. 1870 births 1960 deaths College of Wooster faculty Monmouth College alumni Pittsburgh Theological Seminary alumni Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers People from Richland County, Ohio American Presbyterians