Dr. Laban Lacy Rice (October 14, 1870 – February 13, 1973) was an educator, author, and president of

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

. He was an international authority on relativity.

Early life

He was born in

Dixon, Kentucky Dixon is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Webster County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 933 at the 2020 census. Dixon is located at the junction of US 41A and KY 132. It was established with a courthouse and post o ...

, to Laban Marchbanks Rice, a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran and prominent tobacco merchant, and his wife, Martha Lacy. He was an older brother of the poet Cale Young Rice. Lacy Rice grew up with his family in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from

. While a student at Cumberland, he was one of five men to found the Theta chapter of

Kappa Sigma Fraternity Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

on October 7, 1887. Rice married Blanche Alexander Buchanan in Lebanon, Tennessee, and was the father of two daughters, Katherine and Anne. After his retirement, he made his home in

Warwick, Virginia Warwick is an extinct independent city which was located in the State of Virginia in the United States from 1952 until 1958. Formed by a political conversion of the former Warwick County, Virginia (1634–1952), it is now part of the independ ...

Career

He served as a professor of English at Cumberland University, as headmaster at

Castle Heights Military Academy Castle Heights Military Academy was a private military academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It opened in 1902, became a military school in 1918, and closed in 1986. The Academy was founded in 1902 as Castle Heights School by David Mitche ...

, and as associate editor of the '' Cumberland Presbyterian'' prior to being elected as president of

. He also founded a private girls' camp called ''Camp Nakanawa'' and was an amateur astronomer. The Rice Observatory on the Cumberland University campus is named after him. In 1902 he along with Edward E. Weir, PhD (who also taught with him at Cumberland University) were on faculty at the Lebanon College for Young Ladies. His birthplace in

Webster County, Kentucky Webster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,017. Its county seat is Dixon. It is the southernmost county in the Evansville, IN–KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...

, is designated by Historic Marker #1508, which reads:

Death

He died in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, in 1973, at the age of 102, and was buried at the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon, Tennessee.

References

External links

Rice family pageRice family home on Dixon, KY site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Laban 1870 births 1973 deaths Heads of universities and colleges in the United States People from Webster County, Kentucky Writers from Evansville, Indiana Writers from Louisville, Kentucky American centenarians Men centenarians