Hepburn, A. D. (Andrew Dousa), 1830-1921

Andrew Dousa Hepburn was born on November 14, 1830 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He received an A.B. degree from Jefferson College in 1851 and a D.D. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1857. In that same year he married Henrietta McGuffey, daughter of noted author William Holmes McGuffey. Hepburn was ordained on October 22, 1858 and pastored a congregation in New Providence, Virginia from 1858 to 1860. In 1860, he joined the University of North Carolina as Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and English a post he held until 1867. In 1868, Hepburn became Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and English at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Upon the resignation of Miami President Robert Stanton, Hepburn was named President Pro Tem of the University in 1871. When Miami closed temporarily in 1873, Hepburn accepted a Professorship in English Literature at North Carolina's Davidson College. He served as President of the College from 1877 to 1885. Hepburn returned to Miami in 1885 as Professor of English, serving in that capacity until his retirement in1908. During that period, he gained notoriety as an opponent of the admission of women to Miami in 1887 and for a bitter feud with Robert McFarland, Miami's President from 1885 to 1888. Shortly before Hepburn's retirement the Miami Board of Trustees voted to name the institution's first female dormitory after him. Hepburn accepted the honor without comment. Following his retirement from Miami, Hepburn resided in Oxford, Ohio, until his death on February 21, 1921.

From the guide to the Andrew Dousa Hepburn Collection, 1846-1944, 1868-1924, (Miami University)

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