Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (1818–1901) was an American educator and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

clergyman who served as president of Muhlenberg College in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

and as a

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

and literature professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Family

Muhlenberg was born to

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

s Frederick Augustus Hall Muhlenberg (1795–1867) and his wife Elizabeth Schaum in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

on August 25, 1818. Frederick A. Hall Muhlenberg was the son of

Gotthilf Henry Ernst Muhlenberg Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (17 November 1753 – 23 May 1815) was an American clergyman and botanist. Biography The son of Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg, he was born in Trappe, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Franckesche Stiftungen in ...

a noted botanist. Muhlenberg was born at

where his father was a physician and a trustee of Frankin College. F. A. H. Muhlenberg had received his M.D. from the

where Benjamin Rush had been among his teachers. In 1848, Muhlenberg married Catherine Anne Muhlenberg. She was a granddaughter of Gotthilf Muhlenberg's brother Peter Muhlenberg, and thus a second-cousin of Frederick. They were the parents of six sons.

Education and career

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg began his education at Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) and then transferred to Jefferson College (now Washington and Jefferson College) from which he graduated in 1836. He then studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1840 Muhlenberg joined the faculty of Franklin College (now

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Fran ...

). In 1850, Muhlenberg joined the faculty of Pennsylvania College, where he taught Greek and served as college Librarian. In 1854 he was ordained a Lutheran minister, and actively served as such in various Lutheran Churches in and around Gettysburg. He remained at Pennsylvania College until 1867. From 1867 to 1876, Muhlenberg served as president of Muhlenberg College. In 1876, Muhlenberg was appointed a professor of Greek at the

, where he remained until 1888. He was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1878. In 1891, Muhlenberg became the president of

Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges or universities in the region with about 100 full-time and part time faculty ...

. However, in 1893 a stroke forced him to resign that position. He lived in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...

from 1893 until his death on March 21, 1901.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muhlenberg, Frederick Augustus 1818 births People from Reading, Pennsylvania Gettysburg College alumni Washington & Jefferson College alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Franklin & Marshall College faculty 19th-century American Lutheran clergy Muhlenberg College faculty American people of German descent Muhlenberg family University of Pennsylvania faculty Thiel College 1901 deaths