Oliver Marcy (February 13, 1820 – March 19, 1899) was twice an acting

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

from 1876-1881 and in 1890.

Biography

Oliver Marcy was born in

Colrain, Massachusetts Colrain is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,606 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Colrain was first settled in 1735 as "Boston T ...

on February 13, 1820, the seventh of 11 children. He attended

Wesleyan Academy Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles We ...

and graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in 1846. He became

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natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at Northwestern University in 1862 and taught there for 37 years and held a number of faculty posts. Marcy established the

Northwestern University Museum of Natural History Northwestern or North-western or North western may refer to: * Northwest, a direction * Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois ** The Northwestern Wildcats, this school's intercollegiate athletic program ** No ...

and served as its

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from 1871 to his death. He also held several administrative positions at Northwestern. He was Dean of the College of Technology from 1873 to 1876 and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts from 1890 to 1899. Twice he served as Acting President of the University, from 1876 to 1881 and again from May to September 1890. Marcy married Elizabeth Eunice Smith in 1874. They had four children of whom only one, Annie, survived. Mrs. Marcy was very active in

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

causes and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

social work; Chicago's Methodist-sponsored settlement house, the Marcy Center, was named in her honor. Marcy died at his home in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

on March 19, 1899. He and his wife are buried at Woodland Dell Cemetery in Wilbraham, Massachusetts.

References

External links

*
Photo of Oliver MarcyNorthwestern University archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcy, Oliver 1820 births 1899 deaths People from Colrain, Massachusetts Wesleyan University alumni Northwestern University faculty Presidents of Northwestern University