John Rogers (January 11, 1630 – July 12, 1684) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

minister and academic in early Colonial America.

Biography

Eldest son of minister Nathaniel Rogers, he was born in

Coggeshall Coggeshall ( or ) is a small town in Essex, England, between Colchester and Braintree on the Roman road Stane Street and the River Blackwater. It has almost 300 listed buildings and a market whose charter was granted in 1256 by Henry III. ...

, a small town in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, and immigrated to

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 (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

with his family in 1636. In 1649, at age 19, in the recent settlement of Cambridge (known as Newe Towne until 1638), he earned a

B.A. 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 yea ...

from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

which, only seven years earlier, in 1642, had graduated its first class of students. In 1652, following an additional three years of study, he received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and, in 1660, married Elizabeth Denison of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

. Residing in Ipswich and, despite neither having been ordained as a minister or trained as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Rogers practiced medicine and assisted in the ministry of his brother-in-law, local historian William Hubbard, whose service as Ipswich pastor ultimately extended for more than 50 years. In 1682, Rogers was appointed

President of Harvard The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoi ...

, after the death of

Urian Oakes Urian Oakes (1631 – July 25, 1681) was an English-born American Congregational minister and educator who served as the fourth president of Harvard College. Early life The son of Edward and Jane Oakes, he was born in England in 1631 or 1632 ...

. Not the first choice as successor by the Governing Board of Harvard, first choice Cotton Mather could not be released from his pastoral obligations, a second choice declined. John Rogers would be the one to accept the position. Described by

minister and prolific author Cotton Mather, John Rogers was "sweet-tempered...genuinely pious and a accomplished gentleman given to long winded daily prayers." American historian

Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...

says that John Rogers would have "made a successful president", but having held the position for only two years, he died suddenly at the age of 54. He was buried at Old Burying Ground.

References

Harvard History of the President's Office
1630 births 1684 deaths Presidents of Harvard University Harvard College alumni People from Coggeshall {{US-academic-administrator-stub