Aubrey, Edwin E., 1896-1956

Edwin Ewart Aubrey was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1896. He came to the United States in 1913 and became a naturalized citizen in 1918. He served with the U.S. Ambulance Service in France and Italy during World War I.

Aubrey earned his Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Bucknell University in 1919 and his M.A. (1921), Bachelor of Divinity (1922), and Ph.D. (1926) all from the University of Chicago. Bucknell awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1939.

Aubrey taught at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1922-1923; Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 1923-1926; and Vassar College, 1926-1929. From 1929 to 1944, he served as professor of Christian theology and ethics at the University of Chicago and was the chairman of the theological field. He became president of Crozer Theological Seminary, Chester, Pa., in 1944. He remained at Crozer until 1949, when he established the program of Religious Thought at the University of Pennsylvania. He finished out his career at the University as professor and chairman of the program until his death in 1956.

From 1940 to 1953, Aubrey held positions as visiting lecturer or professor at Vanderbilt University, California Institute of Technology, Union Theological Seminary of New York, Evangelical and Reformed Seminary (Lancaster, Pa.), Swarthmore College, Harvard University, Beloit College, and Colgate-Rochester Divinity School.

Aubrey authored several books, among them Religion and the Next Generation, Present Theological Tendencies, Living the Christian Faith, and Man's Search for Himself.

A nationally known theologian, Aubrey was Secretary and Vice President of the American Theological Society from 1945 to 1956. In addition, he provided leadership in the following capacities: President of the University of Chicago Settlement, 1941-1944; Chairman of the Department of International Justice and Good Will of the Federal Council of Churches, 1944-1948; Treasurer of the American Association of Theological Schools, 1946-1948; Chairman of the National Program Commission of Student YMCA and YWCA, 1950-1955.