Familypedia
Advertisement

  • 1866-1871: President of University of Vermont
  • 1871-1909: 3rd President- University of Michigan
  • 1880-1881: U.S. Minister to China
  • 1897-1898: U.S. Minister to Turkey

President James Burrill Angell was born 7 January 1829 in Scituate, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States to Andrew Aldrich Angell (1802-1865) and Amy Aldrich (1807-1894) and died 1 April 1916 Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States of unspecified causes. He married Sarah Swope Caswell (1831-1903) 26 November 1855 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States.

Biography

James Burrill Angell was an American educator and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan, from 1871 to 1909. He represented the transition from small college life to nationally oriented universities. Under his energetic leadership, Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university.[1] Angell is often cited by school administrators for providing the vision that the university should provide "an uncommon education for the common man." Angell was also president of the University of Vermont from 1866 to 1871 and helped that small school recover from its financial difficulties brought on by the Civil War. Throughout the war, he was the editor of The Providence Journal and was a consistent vocal supporter of Abraham Lincoln.

Angell served in diplomatic posts as America's minister to China from 1880 to 1881 and then to the Ottoman Empire from 1897 to 1898. On his mission to China, he was the primary American negotiator of the Angell Treaty of 1880 that curtailed the emigration of laborers to the United States, as well as a second treaty restricting the trade in opium. In the Ottoman Empire, he was responsible for the protection of American missionaries during the unrest following the massacre of Armenians. Angell was a member of a prominent Yankee family in Rhode Island, and many of his descendants became senior academics.


Children


Offspring of James B Angell and Sarah Swope Caswell (1831-1903)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Alexis Caswell Angell (1857-1932) 26 April 1857 Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States 24 December 1932 Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States Francis Cary Cooley (1857-1934)
Baby Boy Angell (1860-1860)
Lois Thompson Angell (1863-1941) 15 February 1863 Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States 5 May 1941 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States Andrew Cunningham McLaughlin (1861-1947)
James Rowland Angell (1869-1949) 8 May 1869 Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States 4 March 1949 Hamden, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States Marion Isabel Watrous (1870-1931)
Katharine Stuart Cramer (1890-1983)



Siblings


Offspring of Andrew Aldrich Angell (1802-1865) and Amy Aldrich (1807-1894)
Name Birth Death Joined with
James Burrill Angell (1829-1916) 7 January 1829 Scituate, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States 1 April 1916 Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States Sarah Swope Caswell (1831-1903)
Elizabeth Angell (1831-1905)
Charles Angell (1833-1900) 7 May 1833 Scituate, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States 25 May 1900 Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States Harriet King (1836-1860)
Mary Jane Hollingsworth (1845-1930)
Elisha Matthewson Angell (1834-1836)
Phebe Angell (1836-1838)
Hannah Angell (1839-1921)
Caroline Frances Angell (1842-1909)
William T Angell (1848-1922)

Residences

See Also

External Links

Notable descendants and relatives

A number of James Angell's descendants and near relatives rose to prominence in their respective fields, largely also in academia:

Honors and appointments

  • Elected an associate fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1868.[10]
  • Elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1890.[11]
  • Served as president of the American Historical Association from 1892 to 1893.[12]
  • Honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Brown University (1868), Columbia University (1887), Rutgers College (1896), Princeton University (1896), Yale University (1901), Johns Hopkins University (1902), University of Wisconsin (1904), University of Vermont (1904), Harvard University (1906), University of Michigan (1908), and Dartmouth College (1909).[13]
  • Regent of the Smithsonian Institution from January 19, 1887, to January 15, 1912.[14]
  • Awarded the First Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure by Emperor Meiji in October 1909 for service to Japanese students.[15]
  • Inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2008.[16]

Sources

Succession Charts

Academic offices
Preceded by
Joseph Torrey
President of the University of Vermont
1866–1871
Succeeded by
Matthew Henry Buckham
Preceded by
Erastus Otis Haven
Henry S. Frieze (acting)
3rd President of the University of Michigan
1871–1909
With:
Henry S. Frieze (acting 1880–1882)
Henry S. Frieze (acting 1887–1888)
Harry Burns Hutchins (acting 1897–1898)
Succeeded by
Harry Burns Hutchins
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
George Seward
U.S. Minister to China
August 16, 1880 – October 4, 1881
Succeeded by
John Russell Young
Preceded by
Alexander W. Terrell
U.S. Minister to Turkey
September 3, 1897 – August 13, 1898
Succeeded by
Oscar S. Straus

References



Footnotes (including sources)

MainTour

Advertisement