Ezra Stiles
The Rev. Ezra Stiles (November 29, 1727 - May 12, 1795) was a Congregational clergyman, minister of the Second Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island, and President of Yale College from 1778 to 1795. He was also a dedicated supporter of the American Revolutionary cause and an avid amateur scientist who corresponded with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin about scientific discoveries.
Stiles also struck up a close friendship with Rabbi Haim Isaac Carigal during Carigal's six month residence in Newport in 1773, the two meeting 28 times (according to Stiles' records) to discuss a wide variety of topics ranging from kaballah to the politics of the Holy Land. In addition, Stiles took the opportunity to improve his rudimentary knowledge of the Hebrew language, to the point where he and Carigal were to correspond by mail in Hebrew.
Stiles' knowledge of Hebrew also enabled him to translate large portions of the Hebrew Old Testament into English. Stiles believed, as did many Christian scholars of the time, that facility with the text in its original language was advantageous for proper interpretation. As president of Yale, Stiles also became its first professor of Semitics, and required all students to study Hebrew (as was also the case at Harvard); his first commencement address in September, 1781 (no ceremonies having been held during the Revolutionary War) was delivered in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. By 1790, however, he was forced to face failure in instilling an interest in the language in the student body, writing
- "From my first accession to the Presidency ... I have obliged all the Freshmen to study Hebrew. This has proved very disagreeable to a Number of the Students. This year I have determined to instruct only those who offer themselves voluntarily."
The valedictorians of 1785 and 1792, however, did deliver their speeches in Hebrew.
Yale's legacy from this interest of Stiles' includes a portrait of Carigal by artist Samuel King, and the Hebrew words "Urim" and "Thummim" (אורים ותמים) on the Yale seal.
He married twice and had eight children. He owned at least one slave, named Newport, whom he freed on June 9, 1778.
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Preceded by: | Presidents of Yale |
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One of the newest of the residential colleges at Yale University was named in Stiles' honor; it is known for its successes in acquiring the Gimbel and the Tyng Cup, as well as architecturally for its lack of right angles between walls. The building was designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Its mascot is the moose; this arose from the installation of a stuffed moose's head, currently decomposing away in the Ezra Stiles Dining Hall, in honor of former college master and Yale president A. Bartlett Giamatti. Adjacent to Ezra Stiles College is its twin sister college, Morse College, which is architecturally similar.