John Larkin (1801–1858) was a Jesuit priest, born in England, who settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. There he founded the College of St. Francis Xavier (now

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

) and became president of St John's College (now Fordham University).

Earlier life

John Larkin was born in County Durham, England in 1801. He focused on classical studies at

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for its Georgian and Vict ...

of the University of Durham. After his studies at Ushaw, he joined the navy and briefly traveled to

Hindostan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from ''Hindus#Etymology, Hindū'' and -stan, ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian language, Persian-language name for the Indian subcont ...

before returning to England to work at firms in Newcastle and London. In 1823 he began studying theology in Paris at the St. Sulpice seminary. He became an ordained priest in 1826 and was sent to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

to teach philosophy. He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Kingston, Ontario in 1832, but this did not take effect. It was in Montreal that Larkin joined the

Society of Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1841, and in 1846 he journeyed to New York City with 50 cents in his pocket.

College of St. Francis Xavier

In 1847, with only five cents remaining from his travels, Larkin founded the College of St. Francis Xavier, now

. With his five cents he was able to purchase a former Protestant church at the crossroads of Elizabeth and Walker streets. However, in 1848 a devastating fire destroyed the property. In 1851 a new location was acquired on West Sixteenth Street. During the search for a new location, Larkin received the opportunity to become Bishop of Toronto, a position he declined.

St. John's College

In 1851 Larkin returned to Fordham where he became the President of St. John's College (now Fordham University), and for the next three years he "exerted such an extraordinary influence over pupils of all ages as he exercised—an influence that did not cease with the college life, but made itself felt in after years and stamped the future career of many of the men who were disciplined by him as boys." Larkin did encounter issues during his presidency; in particular, there were repercussions when he cancelled the St. Patrick's Day holiday, and then there were threats from the

Know Nothings The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

. When Larkin's administration cancelled the holiday, Irish students brought cheap marbles and destroyed a majority of the college's windows. The Know Nothings were a group determined to fight the growing influence of German and Irish Catholic immigrants in America. After the fallout from St. Patrick's day, two meetings on Fordham Heights were held by the Know Nothings to plot setting fire to St. John's. However, a blacksmith, Mr. Cole, was aware of these meetings and threatened to expose the group if they continued with their plans. The Know Nothings ceased planning their attempt to burn down the college, but the government decided to provide the college with twelve muskets for protection.Robert I. Gannon, S.J., ''Up to the Present: The Story of Fordham,'' Doubleday & Company, Inc.: Garden City, 1967, 46-49.

Legacy

After he left Fordham in 1854, he was summoned to England, Ireland, and eventually back to New York. Larkin died on December 11, 1858, at Fordham. Larkin Hall, a 27,000-square-foot science building located on the Rose Hill campus, is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, John 1801 births 1858 deaths People from County Durham 19th-century English Jesuits Presidents of Fordham University Roman Catholic bishops of Kingston, Canada