Henry Lawrence Southwick (June 21, 1863 – December 30, 1932) was the third president of Emerson College of Oratory (now

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

), located in the Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to teaching at the college, he was a noted international performer of Shakespeare. With his wife,

Jessie Eldridge Southwick Jessie Eldridge Southwick (1865 – 1957) was an American elocutionist, teacher, author and poet. She was active in the Chautauqua and Lyceum movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, performing around the United States as well as int ...

, he created and directed The Southwick Recital Series, popular with contemporary literary audiences of Boston and continuing as an Emerson College event today.

Life and career

Henry Lawrence Southwick was born in Boston on June 21, 1863. He graduated from Emerson College in 1887, and became a financial partner of its founder, Charles Wesley Emerson, in 1889. He taught dramatics at the college and later formed a Shakespearean company composed of himself and Emerson students. In 1900, Henry and Jessie Southwick had joined with William H. Kenney to purchase the school from Charles Emerson. Referred to as Doctor Emerson and Dean Emerson, he served as Emerson's president from 1908 until his death on December 30, 1932. He married Jessie Eldridge, a teacher at the college, in 1889 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They had three daughters: Ruth (1893) who also taught at Emerson College; Mildred (Mrs. James E. Potter of Palm Springs, CA), (1895); and Jessie (1897).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwick, Henry 1863 births 1932 deaths Emerson College alumni Presidents of Emerson College