Eben S. Stearns
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| name = Eben S. Stearns
| image = Eben_S._Stearns_(1819-1887).tif
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| birth_date = December 23, 1819
| birth_place = Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = April 11, 1887
| death_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
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| alma mater= Harvard University
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| occupation = Educator
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Eben S. Stearns (1819–1887) was an American educator. He served as the President of Framingham State University from 1849 to 1855, and as the Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President Peabody Normal School (which later merged with Vanderbilt University) from 1875 to 1887.
Early life
Eben Sperry Stearns was born on December 23, 1819, in Bedford, Massachusetts.{{cite book|last1=Winthrop |first1=Robert Charles |title=Tribute to Eben Sperry Stearns, D.D., LL.D., Chancellor of the University, and President of the Normal College at Nashville, Tennessee, At the Annual Meeting of the Trustees of the Peabody Education Fund, New York, 5 October 1887 |date=1887|publisher=John Wilson and Son University Press|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|url=https://archive.org/details/tributetoebenspe00wint|accessdate=November 30, 2015}} His father was a Congregational minister.
Stearns enrolled at Harvard University in 1841, where he received a master of arts degree in 1845. He received a Doctor of Divinity and a Doctor of Laws from other universities.
Career
Stearns began his career as a teacher in an all girls' seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He went on to teach in West Newton, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine.
Stearns served as the President of Framingham State University from 1849 to 1855.{{cite web|title=HISTORICAL IMAGES OF FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY: Eben S. Stearns, 1849-1855|url=http://digitalcommons.framingham.edu/lib_aschistcoll/66/|website=Framingham State University|accessdate=November 30, 2015}}
Stearns served as the Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President of the Peabody Normal School from 1875 to 1887. Under his leadership, the school attendance grew from 13 to 179 students.{{cite journal |last=Dillingham |first=George A. Jr. |title=The University of Nashville, A Northern Educator, and A New Mission In the Post-Reconstruction South |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=37 |issue=3 |page=330 |jstor=42625882 | date = Fall 1978 }} In 1885, he authored Historical Sketch of the Normal College, at Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite web|title=Online Books by Eben S. Stearns (Stearns, Eben S. (Eben Sperry), 1819-1887)|url=http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Stearns%2C%20Eben%20S.%20(Eben%20Sperry)%2C%201819-1887|website=Online Books Page|accessdate=November 30, 2015}}
Personal life
Death and legacy
Stearns died on April 11, 1887, in Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite news|title=The Death List. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/44044702/?terms=%22Eben%2BS.%2BStearns%22 |newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |date=April 12, 1887 |page=1 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} His funeral was held by an Episcopal pastor in Nashville,{{cite news|title=Universal Regret: The Death of Chancellor Stearns a Painful Surprise. Resolutions of Respects Adopted By Numerous Bodies. The Funeral Services To Be Held This Afternoon. In The Chapel of the Tennessee State Normal College. The Expressions of Regret from Alumni, Teachers, Trustees and Other Departments |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119272959/?terms=%22Eben%2BS.%2BStearns%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=April 13, 1887 |page=5 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} and he was buried in Bedford, Massachusetts.{{cite news|title=The Dead Chancellor. After Services in the Chapel the Body is Taken North for Interment. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119273133/?terms=%22Eben%2BS.%2BStearns%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=April 14, 1887 |page=5 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}}
Meanwhile, he was replaced as Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President of the Peabody Normal School by William H. Payne.{{cite news|title=State Normal College. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118881331/?terms=%22Eben%2BSperry%2BStearns%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=May 27, 1888 |page=5 |via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = November 30, 2015 }} {{Open access}} A year after his death, in 1888, his portrait by Geo Drury was donated to the Peabody Normal College.
References
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Category:People from Bedford, Massachusetts
Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Framingham State University faculty
Category:Heads of universities and colleges in the United States