Noah Knowles Davis (1830–1910) was an American educator. He served as president of Bethel College in Kentucky. He taught at Delaware College, Howard College (now Samford University) and the University of Virginia.

Noah K. Davis
Davis in 1904 publication
Born
Noah Knowles Davis

(1830-05-15)May 15, 1830
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1910(1910-05-03) (aged 79)
Alma materMercer University (BA, MA, PhD)
Baylor University (LLD)
OccupationEducator
Spouse
Ella Cordelia Hunt
(m. 1857)
Children4
Signature

Early life edit

Noah Knowles Davis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 1830, to Mary (née Young) and Noah Davis.[1][2] His father, who was a minister of the Baptist Tract Society, died shortly after Davis' birth.[3] He was raised by his mother and step-father, the Reverend John L. Dagg, a Southern Baptist theologian in Alabama.[2][citation needed]

Davis was educated at Mercer University, where his step-father was president, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mercer University with a BA in chemistry in 1849 as well as a Master of Arts and PhD. He graduated from Baylor University with a LL.D.[3][2]

Career edit

Davis taught at Delaware College and then at Howard College (now Samford University) in 1852.[4] Davis delivered a graduation address at Howard College in 1854. Later he taught.[5]

Davis was elected president of Bethel College in 1868. In 1873, he also became chair of moral philosophy at the University of Virginia.[2][5]

His many books included Elements of Deductive Logic (1893), Elements of Inductive Logic (1895), and Elements of Psychology (1893). Another book was The Story of Nazarene.[6] One of his notable works was The Theory of Thought (1880), which was based on the writings of Aristotle and covered the subject of deductive logic.[5] Davis also edited The Model Architect and The Carpenter's Guide.[3]

Personal life edit

Davis married Ella Cordelia Hunt of Columbus, Georgia, on November 25, 1857. They had four children, Noah Wilson, Marella, Archibald Hunt and Clara Bell.[2]

Davis died on May 3, 1910, in Charlottesville, Virginia.[7][8][9]

Legacy edit

Davis influenced Collins Denny, a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University who taught poet John Crowe Ransom.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. IV. James T. White & Company. 1893. p. 76. Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e University of Virginia; its history, influence, equipment and characteristics, with biographical sketches and portraits of founders, benefactors, officers and alumni. Vol. 2. Lewis Publishing Company. 1904. pp. 6–8. Retrieved April 23, 2023 – via Archive.org.
  3. ^ a b c Shook, John (2005). Dictionary Of Modern American Philosophers. Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum. p. 592. ISBN 1843710374.
  4. ^ Alfred L. Brophy, The Southern Scholar: Howard College Before the Civil War, Cumberland Law Review 46 (2015): 289-309.
  5. ^ a b c Mims, Edwin (2002). The South in the Building of the Nation: History of the Literary and Intellectual Life. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company. p. 267. ISBN 9781565549579.
  6. ^ a b Rubin, Louis Decimus (1978). The Wary Fugitives: Four Poets and the South. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0-8071-0454-5. Herbert charles Sanborn.
  7. ^ "Prof. Noah K. Davis Dead". The Washington Post. Charlottesville, Virginia. May 4, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Alumni Bulletin of the University of Virginia, Volume 3, Issues 1-5. University of Virginia Press. 1910. p. 399.
  9. ^ "Noah Knowles Davis". The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers. Retrieved September 10, 2015.

External links edit