Nathan Sidney Smith Beman (1785 - 1871) was the fourth president of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

. He was born in what is now New Lebanon, New York on November 26, 1785. He graduated from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in 1807. He then studied theology and preached in Portland, Maine and Sparta, Georgia. In 1818, he became president of Franklin College in Athens, Georgia, which was the founding college of the University of Georgia, although he only served a year in that position. He then returned to preaching in Sparta, Georgia at Mount Zion Presbyterian Church until 1822, when he became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York. In 1824, he became a trustee of Middlebury College, a position he maintained until his death. (He was also elected president of Middlebury College in 1846 but declined the position.) He received a doctor of divinity from Williams College in 1824 and a doctor of laws from Middlebury College in 1852. He was a vice president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1842 until 1845, when he was elected president. He continued as president of RPI until 1865. He died on August 6, 1871 in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

at the age of 86. Beman Park, located just north of the RPI campus, is named in his honor.

References

External links

Nathan S.S. Beman at Mt. Zion
historical marker near Sparta, Georgia {{DEFAULTSORT:Beman, Nathan Presidents of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1785 births 1871 deaths Middlebury College alumni Williams College alumni Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers People from New Lebanon, New York Presbyterians from New York (state)