Edward Henry Fairchild (1815–1889) was an American educator and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. He served as principal of

Oberlin Academy Oberlin Academy Preparatory School, originally Oberlin Institute and then Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, was a private preparatory school in Oberlin, Ohio which operated from 1833 until 1916. It opened as Oberlin Institute which beca ...

and as president of

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

Early years

Fairchild was born in

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is h ...

. His father was Grandison Fairchild. When he was a child his family moved to northeast Ohio. When

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

opened its doors in 1834, Fairchild and his brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, entered as freshmen. He graduated in 1838 and continued in the theological course for three years.

Career

Fairchild served as a pastor in Ohio for 22 years. He was the principal at

for many years. A member of the antislavery movement, Fairchild was offered the presidency of

in Berea, Kentucky. Berea was a revolutionary college that educated both black and white men and women. Fairchild strongly supported coeducation and the education of blacks. During Fairchild's tenure as president, the physical plant and student body were expanded. African Americans remained about half of the student body. After his death, this brother,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, who had been president of

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, came to Berea as a professor of English and vice president. Fairchild's son Charles Grandison Fairchild became a distinguished educator and college president as well. Other children included: * Edward Henry * Julia Marie * Arthur Babbitt * Eugene Plumb

See Reference

* "Fairchild, Edward Henry." ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' (1935). 24:263. 1815 births 1889 deaths Henry Fairchild Oberlin College alumni Berea College faculty {{US-academic-administrator-stub