Detail from the frontispiece portrait of Timothy Dwight in Theology Explained and Defended in a Series of Sermons by Timothy Dwight, 1881
Timothy Dwight (1752-1817)
Timothy Dwight was a prominent New England theologian, educator, and poet. Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1752, Dwight enrolled in Yale at age 13 and graduated in 1769. Among his many professional achievements was the founding of a successful school in Greenfield Hill, Connecticut, in 1783. He became pastor of the Congregational Church there and, two years later, published The Conquest of Canaan—believed to be the first epic poem produced in America. He became the eighth president of Yale in 1795, serving until 1817. While president, Dwight allowed for greater faculty participation in college government, a decision that ultimately helped modernize and enhance the relevancy of the curriculum offered to future generations of Yale students.
