George Augustus Gates

George Augustus Gates (January 24, 1851 - November 20, 1912) was an American Congregational minister and university administrator. He was the president of Grinnell College from 1887 to 1900, Pomona College from 1902 to 1909, and Fisk University from 1909 to 1912.

George Augustus Gates
BornJanuary 24, 1851
Topsham, Vermont, U.S.
DiedNovember 20, 1912
Winter Haven, Florida, U.S.
Alma materDartmouth College
Andover Theological Seminary
Spouse(s)Isabelle Augusta Smith

Early life

George Augustus Gates was born on January 24, 1831 in Topsham, Vermont.[1][2] He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1873.[1] After studying in Germany for two years, he graduated from the Andover Theological Seminary in 1880, when he was ordained as a Congregationalist minister.[1]

Career

Gates served as a Congregationalist minister in Upper Montclair, New Jersey from 1880 to 1887.[1] He was also the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Cheyenne, Wyoming from January to November 1901.[3]

Gates was the president of Iowa College, now known as Grinnell College, from 1887 to 1900, and Pomona College in California from 1902 to 1909.[1] He served as the third president of Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1909 to 1912.[1][4] Upon his inauguration at Fisk in 1910, the university received $5,000 from the General Education Board.[5]

Gates was awarded an honorary D.D. degree from Dartmouth College in 1892 and an honorary LL.D degree from the University of Nebraska in 1893.[2] According to The New York Sun, "Dr. Gates was considered one of the foremost leaders in the higher education of the negro race."[2]

Personal life and death

Gates married Isabelle Augusta Smith in 1882.[1][2] He fell ill due to a "severe accident" in 1912,[3] and died on November 20, 1912 in Winter Haven, Florida.[1][2]

Selected works
  • Gates, George A. (1897). A Foe to American Schools: A Vacation Study. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Kingdom Publishing Company. OCLC 80512539.

References
  1. "REV. DR. GEO. A. GATES DEAD". The New York Times. November 21, 1912. p. 13. Retrieved December 8, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "REV. DR. GEORGE A. GATES. Head of Fisk University and Educator of Negroes Dies". The New York Sun. November 22, 1912. p. 9. Retrieved December 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "George Arthur Gates". The Annals of Iowa. 11: 77. 1913. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. "Presidents of historically black colleges and universities 1837-2013". Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  5. "INAUGURATION OF DR. GATES. Programmes Issued for Thursday's Ceremonies at Fisk. CONTRIBUTION OF $,5000 FROM ROCKEFELLER BOARD". The Tennessean. March 29, 1910. p. 5. Retrieved December 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.


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