John Alford (1686 – 29 September 1761) was the founder of the

professorship Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity in

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 ...

. Alford was a member of the council. He died at

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...

in 1761, aged 75. His executors determined the particular objects, to which his bequest for charitable uses should be applied, and divided it equally between Harvard,

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, and the society for the propagation of the gospel among the Indians. To the latter US$10,675 was paid in 1787. Levi Frisbie was the first Alford professor.

Sources

#Allen, William. ''An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary: Containing an Account of the Lives, Characters, and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons in North America From Its First Settlement, and a Summary of the History of the Several Colonies and of the United States''. 2nd ed. Boston: Hyde, 1832. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alford, John 1686 births 1761 deaths Harvard University faculty