John Haskell Hewitt (August 8, 1835 – October 8, 1920) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and educator, notable for serving as acting president of

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 ...

from 1901 to 1902. Born in

Preston, Connecticut Preston is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,788 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston Ci ...

, to Charles Hewitt and Eunice (Witter), Hewitt entered

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1855, initially intending to study law.E. Herbert Botsford, ''Fifty Years at Williams: Administrations of John Haskell Hewitt and Henry Hopkins'' (Eagle Printing and Binding Company, Pittsfield, Massachusetts: 1932), pp. 10–32. While at Yale he befriended

Franklin Carter Franklin Carter (September 30, 1837 – November 22, 1919) was an American professor of Germanic and romance languages and served as President of Williams College from 1881 to 1901. Carter was born September 30, 1837, in Waterbury, Connecticut, ...

, a relationship that would prove beneficial in later years. After graduating with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1859,Obituary 1

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, October 7, 1920. Hewitt then earned an advanced degree from the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1863. He served as a

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

at Yale's

Brothers in Unity Brothers in Unity (formally, the Society of Brothers in Unity) is an undergraduate society at Yale University. Founded in 1768 as a literary and debating society that encompassed nearly half the student body at its 19th-century peak, the group dis ...

Library until 1865,John W. Leonard and Albert Nelson Marquis, ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'
Vol. VI
1910. pg. 898. until he accepted a position teaching

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

. He became a full professor the same year, and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Yale in 1867. On September 8, 1869, Hewitt married Mary Louisa Downing. They had two sons, both of which would become professors themselves, and a daughter. In 1875 Hewitt moved to

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a private liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducational since 1876 and an undergraduate-focused liberal arts inst ...

in Illinois, due to health problems, and served as trustee and acting president there. He studied and traveled in Europe from 1881 to 1882. In 1882, Franklin Carter, now president of

in Massachusetts, contacted Hewitt and offered him a prestigious professorship in ancient languages. Hewitt accepted, serving Williams in various capacities for the rest of his life. He earned another master's degree from Williams in 1888, and an

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

in 1895. When Carter resigned in 1901, Hewitt was named acting president until 1902, when he was replaced by Henry Hopkins. Williams went on to publish ''Williams College and Foreign Missions'' in 1914.John H. Hewitt,
Williams College and Foreign Missions
', Pilgrim Press, 1914. He subsequently received a higher professorship of Greek in 1903, and became

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewett, John Haskell 1835 births 1920 deaths American classical scholars People from Preston, Connecticut Williams College alumni Williams College faculty Presidents of Williams College Olivet College faculty Union College (New York) alumni Yale Divinity School alumni