Born May 14, 1752, Timothy Dwight was a New England Congregational minister, the oldest grandchild of theologian Jonathan Edwards. .... In 1795, he was elected the eighth president of Yale. As president (and still a cleric) he tried to address "infidel philosophy" coming out of Britain and France. His efforts contributed to the national movement called the Second Great Awakening.... One of Dwight's faculty hires was Benjamin Silliman, among the most significant early science educators in America and the namesake of one of Yale's colleges. ... During his writing career, Dwight wrote the first epic poem by an American: "The Conquest of Canaan" (1785), in which the biblical Joshua becomes symbolic of Gen. Washington and the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Dwight thus continued the horrible Puritan rationalization for expelling or killing Native Americans for the sake of American destiny. ... Yale produced several pro-slavery clergyman during Dwight's presidency. Dwight himself owned one slave. It's not known if he ever freed her. In his poems, he generally supported American slavery.... He realized that college administration was harming his health, so he began a regiment of horseback riding to get himself out and about. He took notes of his travels and eventually wrote a three-volume travel book about New England and New York. In one of his essays, he coined the term "Cape Cod houses." .... Dwight had a dream of establishing a theological school at Yale. This dream was accomplished in 1822, five years after his death, when Yale Divinity School was founded. YDS celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2022, yay! ... When I visited New Haven again last fall, I looked around the Grove Street Cemetery and found his grave--coincidentally or not, beside his presidential predecessor Ezra Stiles. Here is an online a translation of Dwight's epitaph: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm10C77_Timothy_Dwight_IV_New_Haven_CT?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3Xpu-jDY7SdbpYLA_-kh4WHnYdhBQnAt90WwfGS8744dU7SrlV2B9rI_E_aem_AS1LB7yfIHRsfF6ovZeuRq4llykr9Xnl4eth8XiLcwhyYPrhFUFOBj4FjxVoQv-4J2RkfEM1HKAXBTpDUeTMgtSx
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