Isaac Norton Rendall

Isaac Norton Rendall (September 30, 1825 – November 15, 1912) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic administrator. He served as president of Lincoln University for forty-one years (1865–1906).[1]

Isaac Norton Rendall
President of Lincoln University
In office
1865–1906
Preceded byJohn Wynne Martin
Succeeded byJohn Ballard Rendall
Personal details
Born(1825-09-30)September 30, 1825
Utica, New York, US
DiedNovember 15, 1912(1912-11-15) (aged 87)
Oxford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materPrinceton Theological Seminary
ProfessionMinister, educator

Early life and education

Isaac Norton Rendall was born in Utica, New York on September 30, 1825. He had five siblings. He graduated from Princeton University in 1852 and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1855 and received his ordination as a Presbyterian minister in 1860. He subsequently received a doctorate of divinity from Lafayette College in 1870. He served as stated supply first of the church of Oneida Valley, New York, from 1858 to 1864 and of the church of Emporium, Pennsylvania, from 1864 to 1865.[2][3]

Lincoln University presidency

Rendall became president of the Ashmun Institute, later renamed Lincoln University after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, in 1865.[4][2] He lived on campus at the University.[1] Upon retirement in 1906, he was the longest serving university president in the world, having served for forty-one years. Lincoln University had also become one of the wealthiest colleges in the country.[2] Over the decades, he had rejected four petitions from Philadelphia's free Black community to hire qualified African American faculty.[5] Following his retirement, he continued to live on campus and teach evangelism and polemics at the school.[3]

Later life and legacy

Rendall never married.[2] In late October 1912, he became sick and died on November 15, 1912 at his home on the campus of Lincoln University.[1] He is buried at Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Pennsylvania. In the week subsequent to his death, the Public Opinion called him a "friend of negro[es]" in an obituary due to his work at Lincoln University.[2]

Legacy

Rendall Hall at Lincoln University is named for him and his nephew John Ballard Rendall, who also served as president of the university.[6] His records are held in the Cooperative HBCU Archival Survey Project, including a book he wrote about Lincoln University.[7][8]

References
  1. "Isaac Norton Rendall Dies". Delaware County Daily Times. 18 November 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. "Dr. Rendall Dies; Friend of Negro". Public Opinion. 18 November 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  3. "Isaac Norton Rendall, D.D." The Princeton Seminary Bulletin. 7 (2): 219–220. August 1907 – via Internet Archive.
  4. "Lincoln University Pennsylvania Class Graduation Photograph by Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, 1825–1912, President Rev. Isaac Norton on Ian Brabner, Rare Americana, LLC". Ian Brabner, Rare Americana, LLC.
  5. Boyle, Sheila Tully (2001). Paul Robeson. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-1-55849-149-6.
  6. "Rendall Hall". Lincoln University. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  7. Isaac Norton Rendall records. April 3, 1873. OCLC 70968970 – via Open WorldCat.
  8. "1907_RendallNotebook0001". hbcudigitallibrary.auctr.edu.
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