Isaac Hellmuth (December 14, 1819 – 28 May 1901), second

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Bishop of the

Diocese of Huron The Diocese of Huron is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises just over 31,000 square kilometres in southwestern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Its See ...

, was the founder of

Huron University College Huron University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Huron was incorporated on 5 May 1863 and the founding institution of the University of Western Ontario. It was est ...

and the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

, one of Canada's leading universities. He was also founder of

Hellmuth Ladies' College Hellmuth Ladies' College (founded September 1869; closed 1899) was a private college for women in London, Ontario. The college was founded by Reverend Isaac Hellmuth and was inaugurated by Prince Arthur. The college had no official connection wit ...

and Hellmuth Boys' College, both now defunct, formerly of

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

Biography

Isaac was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in 1819 into a Jewish family and educated at the

University of Breslau 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, th ...

. His father was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and he trained to be a rabbi himself. However, intellectual discourse with

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

of other faiths made him question his

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

and his father disowned him. He was forced to take his mother’s maiden name. He moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1842 and made his decision to

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, specifically

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

, and later confirmed to the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada. By 1844 he entered the ministry and was sent to the

Anglican Diocese of Toronto The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It was founded in 1839 and is the oldest of the seven dioceses comprising the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario. ...

. He studied for his ordination and, because of his prior education, soon had an appointment to

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

(Bishop's College) in

Lennoxville Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

where he was ordained and became a professor of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and rabbinical literature. In 1854 he returned to England and became organizing secretary in London for the Colonial Church and School Society but was asked by the Society to move back to Canada in 1856 as a Superintendent. He resigned in 1861 and was collated Archdeacon of Huron by Bishop

Benjamin Cronyn Benjamin Cronyn (11 July 1802 – 21 September 1871) was the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Huron. Cronyn was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and educated at Trinity College, Dublin."Alumni Dublinenses : a register of the students, gr ...

. He acted in a fund-raising capacity to establish Huron College, a training establishment for clergy and the founding college of the University of Western Ontario. He was the first principal of the college until 1866, when he was appointed

Dean of Huron St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Ontario, Canada, is the seat of the Diocese of Huron of the Anglican Church of Canada. It was designed in the Gothic revival style by William Thomas and built between 1844 and 1846, replacing the previous church, w ...

. In 1871 he was elevated to coadjutor

Bishop of Huron The Diocese of Huron is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises just over 31,000 square kilometres in southwestern Ontario, sandwiched between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Its See ...

, becoming bishop on Cronyn's death later that year. Hellmuth founded the

Western University of London, Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...

in 1878, which was later renamed

. He returned to England in 1883, to become

Assistant Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon was a diocesan bishop's title which took its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. History Though one ancient Bishop of Ripon is known, the modern see of Ripon was established in 1836 from parts of th ...

, but served only briefly; he died in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

, England in 1901. He had married twice: firstly Catherine Maria Evans, daughter of Thomas Evans, with whom he had three children and secondly Mary Louisa Glyn, née Duncombe. His son,

I. F. Hellmuth Isidore Frederick (I.F.) Hellmuth (1854–1944) was the first champion of what became the Canadian National Tennis Championship, now known as the Canadian Open or the Rogers Cup (tennis), Rogers Cup. He was also a three-time runner-up as well as ...

(1845–1944), was the first champion of what became the Canadian National Tennis Championship, now known as the Canadian Open or the

Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...

. Isadore Hellmuth also founded the

Toronto Lawn Tennis Club The Toronto Lawn Tennis Club is a private social and athletic club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1876, it has a long history of tennis competition. It is located at 44 Price Street, in the affluent Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto. ...

and won the inaugural United States national tennis championship tournament played in 1881 at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

External links

*
Bibliographic directory
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellmuth, Isaac 1819 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Anglican Church of Canada bishops Anglican bishops of Huron Polish people of Jewish descent Polish emigrants to Canada Converts to Anglicanism from Judaism University of Western Ontario