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Jeremiah Day (August 3, 1773 – August 22, 1867) was an American academic, a
Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
minister and
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
(1817–1846).


Early life

Day was the son of Rev. Jeremiah and Abigail (Noble) Osborn Day, who were descendants of Robert Day, who came from Ipswich, England in 1634, settled in Newtown
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, and later became one of the original proprietors of
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
. He was born in the parish of New Preston, Connecticut, then a part of New Milford, but since 1779, of Washington, where his father was pastor of the Congregational Church.For biography of Jeremiah Day, Sr., see W.B. Sprague's ''Annals of the American Pulpit'', 1857, I, 688 One of the latter's theological pupils, David Hale, brother of Nathan, first instructed Day, and later he continued his preparation for college under John Kingsbury of
Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
. He entered
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
in 1789, left because of pulmonary trouble in 1791, reentered in 1793, having taught school in the meantime, and graduated in 1795. While at Yale, he was a member of the
Linonian Society Linonia is a literary and debating society founded in 1753 at Yale University. It is the university's second-oldest secret society. History Linonia was founded on September 12, 1753, as Yale College's second literary and debating society, af ...
.


Career

Day then succeeded
Timothy Dwight IV Timothy Dwight (May 14, 1752January 11, 1817) was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He was the eighth president of Yale College (1795–1817). Early life Timothy Dwight was born May 14, 17 ...
.v. as principal of the academy which the latter had established at Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, but soon left there to become tutor at
Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
. Two years later Day accepted a similar position at Yale. On June 3, 1800, he was licensed to preach by the New Haven West Association of Ministers. During all this time Day had been suffering from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, and in July 1801 a hemorrhage brought on by the exertion of preaching caused him to go to Bermuda where he spent nearly a year. Upon his return Day went to his father's home with little expectation of recovery, but life among the Connecticut hills arrested the disease, and in the summer of 1803 he undertook the duties of the professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy at Yale to which he had been elected shortly after his departure for
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
. On January 14, 1805, Day married Martha, the daughter of the Hon.
Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Cont ...
and
Rebecca Minot Prescott Rebecca Minot Prescott (1742–1813) was the second wife of United States Founding Father Roger Sherman. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca Minot Prescott from Salem, Massachusetts; the niece of Roger Sherman’s brother Rev. Josiah Sher ...
, they had one son child
Sherman Day Sherman Day (1806–1884) was born in New Haven, Connecticut and died in Berkeley, California. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover and graduated from Yale College, A.B., 1826, receiving the degree from his father, Jeremiah Day (1773–1867), w ...
and she died in 1806; and on September 24, 1811, Olivia, daughter of Major Daniel and Olive (Tinker) Jones of Hartford, Connecticut. Day was elected an Associate Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1813. For sixty-nine years Day was officially connected with Yale College. On April 22, 1817, he was appointed president, succeeding Timothy Dwight, and was both installed and ordained to the ministry on July 23. In his seventy-fourth year Day insisted on resigning, but was immediately elected a member of the Corporation, in which office he served until a month before his death, which occurred just after the completion of his ninety-fourth year. In 1835, Day had been urged to become head of
Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambridge. ...
, but had declined. Never strong, and after 1836 subject to attacks of
angina pectoris Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of obstru ...
, Day prolonged his life by self-knowledge and moderation in all things. He was a man of dignity and extreme reserve. Although, as described by
Timothy Dwight V Timothy Dwight V (November 16, 1828 – May 26, 1916) was an American academic, educator, Congregational minister, and President of Yale University (1886–1898). During his years as the school's president, Yale's schools first organized as a uni ...
, the younger, "he was a wise disciplinarian, a judicious governor, a thorough and accurate scholar, a valuable teacher, and a man of intelligent and penetrative mind," his influence was due chiefly to his goodness and his reputation for deep wisdom. Day combined serenity, self-control, modesty, and unselfishness in such a degree that all of the 2,500 students who had been under him, according to President
Theodore Dwight Woolsey Theodore Dwight Woolsey (31 October 1801 – 1 July 1889) was an American academic, author and President of Yale College from 1846 through 1871. Biography Theodore Dwight Woolsey was born 31 October 1801 in New York City. His mother was Elizabe ...
, would have unquestionably declared him the best man they had ever known. As president, Day built slowly on the foundation laid by his predecessor. Stability, conservatism, and great caution were his conspicuous characteristics. Improvements that were made were generally suggested by others. Outside of Connecticut he was known principally through his textbooks. In 1814, Day published ''An Introduction to Algebra'', which went through many editions. This was followed by works on
trigonometry Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...
, geometry, and the mathematical principles of navigation and surveying. After 1820, Day taught mental and moral philosophy, and in 1838 published ''An Inquiry Respecting the Self-determining Power of the Will'' and ''A Course of Mathematics containing The Principles of Plane Trigonometry, Mensuration, Navigation and Surveying''; and in 1841 ''An Examination of President Edwards's Inquiry on the Freedom of the Will''. He also contributed numerous articles to periodicals, and published a few sermons. Dat was responsible for the publication of "The
Yale Report of 1828 {{citations, date=February 2014 The Yale Report of 1828 is a document written by the faculty of Yale College in staunch defense of the classical curriculum. The report maintained that because of Yale's primary object of graduating well-educated and ...
" defending the classical curriculum.


Notes


References

* Kelley, Brooks Mather. (1999)
''Yale: A History.''
New Haven:
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
. ; * "Jeremiah Day“: ''Dictionary of American Biography Base Set''. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC * Welch, Lewis Sheldon and Walter Camp (1899)
''Yale, Her Campus, Class-rooms, and Athletics.''
Boston: L.C. Page and Co.


External links

* Day Family Papers (MS 175). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.
Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England
By Thomas Townsend Sherman

at
Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Jeremiah 1773 births 1867 deaths Presidents of Yale University Burials at Grove Street Cemetery Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Mathematics educators People from New Preston, Connecticut Yale College alumni