William Mann Irvine
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William Mann Irvine (October 13, 1865 – June 11, 1928) was an American academic and founding headmaster of
Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...
in
Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...
.


Early life and education

Irvine was born on October 13, 1865, in
Bedford, Pennsylvania Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,861 at the 2020 census. His ...
, the son of Henry Fetter Irvine and Emma Elizabeth (Mann) Irvine. Irvine attended Bedford public schools in his early years, before enrolling at
Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...
at age 15. Irvine graduated fourth in his class at Exeter, then matriculated at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
. At Princeton, Irvine excelled academically and athletically. Among other activities, he served as president of his freshman class and managing editor of '' The Princetonian''. Irvine won the South East Club University Fellowship in Social Science, allowing for a year of postgraduate study. He was a starting lineman on the Princeton football team all five years, during which the team achieved a record of 43-3-2 and won three consecutive national championships. He was named to the 1880s All-Decade Team as selected by the College Football Hall of Fame. Irvine received his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from Princeton in 1888 and his
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in political science from Princeton in 1891. After graduating Princeton, Irvine attended
Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...
in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
, graduating in 1892.


Career

Irvine contemplated becoming a pastor but was persuaded to enter teaching after completing his own formal education. He joined the faculty of
Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Fran ...
as a professor of social science in 1892. In addition to teaching, Irvine helped establish the school's football program. He served as both the team's head coach and as a player and team captain. At the age of 28, after only one year of teaching at Franklin & Marshall, Irvine was recruited by the Board of Regents of what was then Mercersburg College in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania to serve as that institution's president. By Irvine's account, the college was foundering. In July 1893, three months into his tenure, Irvine changed the name of the institution to Mercersburg Academy, establishing a preparatory school in the model of his alma mater, Exeter, and similar schools throughout
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. Under Irvine's leadership, Mercersburg Academy developed dramatically. As enrollment increased, Irvine expanded the campus from four acres to over 120, constructing numerous new buildings along the way. The groundbreaking of one such building, the Eighty-eight Dormitory, was attended by
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
in 1903. Irvine met Wilson at Princeton, where Wilson was a professor and ultimately university president. The two kept in touch after Wilson was elected
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. Irvine and his wife also enjoyed a relationship with President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
and First Lady
Grace Coolidge Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an unin ...
, whose sons,
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
and Calvin, Jr., attended Mercersburg. Grace Coolidge stayed at the Irvines' home when visiting her sons, and the Irvines stayed at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
during Calvin Coolidge's presidency. One of Irvine's most ambitious undertakings as headmaster was the construction of a chapel on Mercersburg's campus. Irvine engaged noted architect
Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partner ...
to design the building and spent decades overseeing its planning and construction. Construction was completed in 1926, and the chapel was dedicated to Mercersburg alumni killed in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Grace Coolidge attended the dedication ceremony. The spire is a replica of that of
University Church of St Mary the Virgin The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Oxford church situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of un ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and it contains a traditional
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
. Irvine was active in professional associations, serving as president o
The Headmasters Association
in 1921, president of the Association of Colleges and Schools of the Middle States and Maryland in 1922, and president of the Headmasters' Club of Philadelphia in 1923. Irvine served as headmaster of Mercersburg for 35 years, until his death in 1928.


Awards and honors

Irvine received numerous awards, honorary degrees, and other honors, including the following: * Honorary Doctor of Laws from Franklin & Marshall College in 1910 * Honorary Doctor of Laws from
Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
in 1916 * Honorary Doctor of Laws from Princeton University (posthumously) in 1928 * Irvine Hall at Mercersburg Academy, dedicated in 1950 * Irvine Memorial Chapel at Mercersburg Academy, rededicated in 1993 *
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
All-Decade Team (1880s)


Personal life

Irvine married Camille Hart of
Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...
, in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, on June 26, 1894. They had three children: daughters Hart and Camille Irvine, and a son, William Mann Irvine Jr. Irvine Jr. died on his second birthday. Both Hart Irvine and Camille Irvine went on to marry members of the Mercersburg Academy faculty, John Dorman West and Clarke Winship Slade, respectively. Irvine traveled extensively throughout his life, both within the United States and internationally. In 1903, he traveled with Sir
Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup m ...
aboard Lipton's yacht. In 1912, he visited Cuba for Christmas vacation as a guest of its former president,
Domingo Méndez Capote Domingo may refer to: People *Domingo (name), a Spanish name and list of people with that name *Domingo (producer) (born 1970), American hip-hop producer *Saint Dominic (1170–1221), Castilian Catholic priest, founder of the Friars popularly cal ...
, whose son attended Mercersburg. He toured Europe in 1924.


Death and funeral

On June 5, 1928, Irvine was presiding over Mercersburg Academy's commencement exercises when he suffered a stroke to which he succumbed on June 11. His death was announced to the Mercersburg community by the playing of the academy hymn on the famed carillon in what is now the Irvine Memorial Chapel. His funeral was held in the chapel with eight of his students serving as pallbearers. He was buried at Fairview Cemetery, adjacent to campus. Irvine was survived by his wife, mother, and two daughters.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, William Mann 1865 births 1928 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football fullbacks Educators from Pennsylvania Franklin & Marshall Diplomats football coaches Franklin & Marshall Diplomats football players Founders of schools in the United States Heads of American boarding schools Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Princeton University alumni Princeton Tigers football players Franklin & Marshall College faculty People from Bedford, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Burials in Pennsylvania