Josiah Clark (February 7, 1814 – May 30, 1878) was an American classicist who served as the second principal of the

Williston Seminary Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841. History Williston Seminary was ...

and one of the first professors at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

. Clark was born in Leicester, Mass., February 7, 1814, the eldest son of Rev. Josiah Clark (

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 ...

1809) and Asenath, daughter of Nathaniel Edwards of Northampton, Mass. His father remained in Leicester as preceptor of the

Leicester Academy Leicester Academy was founded on March 23, 1784, when the Act of Incorporation for Leicester Academy was passed by the Massachusetts General Court as a private, state chartered institution. The charter issued to the Academy bears the bold signatur ...

there until 1818, and then removed to Rutland, Mass., where he was pastor until his death in 1845. He graduated from

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 1833. From 1833 to 1835, Clark was the principal of an academy in

Westminster, Md Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greate ...

., and for the next two years a teacher in the

University of Maryland at Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...

. He then studied theology in the Andover Theological Seminary, supplementing the usual course with an additional year of study. In 1841 he became an associate preceptor in Leicester Academy, and later the preceptor, remaining there until 1849, when he was made principal of

, Easthampton, Mass. This position he retained until 1863, when he removed to Northampton, Mass. There he continued to teach, at first in the Round Hill School, and afterwards receiving pupils in his house, chiefly those preparing in the classics for admission to college. In the summer of 1875 the

for women was opened in Northampton, and Dr. Clark (the degree of LL. D. was given him by Yale College in July 1875) entered on the duties of the Professorship of Latin and Greek. In August 1876, he was prostrated (perhaps in consequence of a partial sunstroke) by an obscure disease of the brain, and after a lingering illness died at his residence in Northampton, May 30, 1878, aged 64 years. Clark impressed himself on his pupils in a remarkable degree, alike by his admirable character and his finished scholarship and those who knew him in this relation will always look back to him as the model teacher. He was married, November 21, 1842, to his cousin, Lucy Edwards, daughter of David L. Dewey, of Northampton, who survived him without children.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Josiah 1814 births 1878 deaths People from Leicester, Massachusetts University of Maryland, Baltimore faculty Andover Newton Theological School alumni Smith College faculty Yale Law School alumni Yale College alumni