James Sturgis Pray (February 26, 1871 – February 24, 1929) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. Pray was president of the

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...

from 1914 to 1918 and held the post of chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Biography

Pray graduated from the Chauncy Hall School in 1894 and

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1898. Immediately following and until 1903, he worked for the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law ...

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri * Brookline, New Hampshire * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookline, Vermont See ...

. He married Florence Mabel Nichols on October 30, 1901 in Buffalo, and later had a son named Benjamin Sturgis, who also graduated from Harvard in 1925 and lived in

Thayer Hall This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system. Apley Court South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stre ...

during his freshman year, and a daughter, Frances Motley, named after his mother. From 1904 until 1918, Pray worked for his own firms: Pray & Gallagher (1904-1906) and Pray, Hubbard, & White (1906-1918). In 1908, Pray succeeded

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

as chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture at

(1908-1928). Pray served as Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture from 1905 to 1914, Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture from 1914 until his death. Pray was a patron of the

Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture The Lowthorpe School of Landscape Architecture is the shorthand name for a school that was founded in Groton, Massachusetts in 1901 for women to be trained in landscape architecture and horticulture. Under its original name of Lowthorpe School ...

in Groton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pray, James Sturgis 1871 births 1929 deaths Architects from Boston Harvard College alumni American landscape architects Harvard University faculty