William T. Amiger

William Thomas Amiger
President of State University at Louisville
In office
1908–1916
Preceded byCharles L. Purce
Succeeded byCharles Parrish
1st Acting President of American Baptist Theological Seminary
In office
September 14, 1924 – 1925
Succeeded bySutton Griggs
3rd President of American Baptist Theological Seminary
In office
1926 – May 1929
Preceded bySutton Griggs
Succeeded byJ. H. Garnett
Personal details
BornJuly 16, 1870
Culpeper, Virginia, United States
DiedMay 26, 1929(1929-05-26) (aged 58)
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Resting placeMount Lawn Cemetery, Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, United States
SpouseEleanor Green (1892–)
Children5
EducationLincoln University, State University of New York at Geneseo
OccupationMinister, missionary, academic administrator, college president, educator

Rev. William Thomas Amiger (1870–1929) also known as W.T. Amiger, was an American college president, academic administrator, Baptist minister, missionary, and educator.[1][2] He was the president of State University at Louisville (now Simmons College of Kentucky) in Louisville, Kentucky;[3] and president of American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College) in Nashville, Tennessee. Amiger was a missionary in Liberia, West Africa.

Early life and education

William Thomas Amiger was born on July 16, 1870, in Culpeper, Virginia, to parents Margaret Alexander and Howland Amiger.[1][4]

For preparatory education, Amiger attended State Normal School (now State University of New York at Geneseo) in Geneseo, New York; followed by study at Lincoln University near Oxford, Pennsylvania where he received a 1899 B.A. degree, 1902 M.A. degree, and 1902 S.T.B. degree.[1][5] He did additional study in 1903, at Newton Theological Institution (later Newton Theological Seminary) in Newton, Massachusetts.[1][6]

Amiger and Eleanor Green married in 1892, and together they had five children.[1]

Career

He was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1903, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1] Amiger worked for as a pastor at Third Baptist Church in Springfield, Massachusetts from July 1903 until 1908;[1][7] followed by two months of work in 1908 as the main pastor at Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton, Massachusetts, succeeding L.C. Parrish.[8]

He served as president of State University at Louisville (now Simmons College of Kentucky) in Louisville, Kentucky, starting in 1908 until 1916.[9][10]

From 1918 to 1919 during World War I, Amiger served as a first lieutenant chaplain in the U.S. Army, assigned to Camp Hill in south Newport News, Virginia.[11][12] He was a missionary in Liberia, West Africa with the National Baptist Foreign Missionary Society (also known as the American Baptist Missionary Union) from 1919 until 1923.[13]

Amiger served as president of American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College) in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1924 to 1925; and from 1926 until his death in May 1929.[9]

He was a member of the National Teachers Association, the National Geographic Society, and the Religious Education Association.[1] Amiger was awarded honorary degrees from Lincoln University (D.D. in 1909), and Central Law School (L.L.D. in 1912) in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] His profile is included in the books, An Era of Progress and Promise, 1863–1910 (1910), and Who's Who Among the Colored Baptists of the United States (1913).[4]

Death

On May 23, 1929, Amiger was in Nashville and tried to catch a train to Philadelphia to join his family, when he collapsed.[9] He had a decline in his health leading up to the collapse.[9] He died on May 26, 1929, at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville.[9] He was buried at Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mather, Frank Lincoln (1915). "Amiger, William Thomas". Who's Who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. Vol. 1. pp. 6–7.
  2. ^ Andover Newton Theological School (1912). "William Thomas Amiger". The Newton Theological Institution: General Catalogue. Andover Newton Theological School. p. 255.
  3. ^ "Potent Factor in Education, Works of Kentucky University Justifies Larger Equipment". The Denver Star. January 24, 1914. ISSN 2577-2376. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Bacote, Samuel William (1913). "William Thomas Amiger, A.B., A.M., B.Th., D.D., L.L.D.". Who's Who Among the Colored Baptists of the United States. The Library of Congress. Kansas City, Mo., Franklin Hudson Publishing co. p. 30 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "Going to Kentucky. Rev. William T. Amiger Regins From West Newton Church". The Boston Globe. December 7, 1908. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Distinguished Successful Americans of Our Day: Containing Biographies of Prominent Americans Now Living. Chicago, IL: Successful Americans. 1911. p. 420 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Rev. William T. Amiger". Transcript-Telegram. July 23, 1903. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Going to Kentucky. Rev. William T. Amiger Regins From West Newton Church". The Boston Globe. December 7, 1908. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b c d e Hailey, O. L. (June 13, 1929). "Our President Passes Away". Baptist and Reflector. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Who's Who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1927. p. 4.
  11. ^ "E.J. Emmett. The American Negro in the World War. Appendix B". www.gwpda.org. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  12. ^ Salter I, Krewasky A. (2014-01-10). The Story of Black Military Officers, 1861-1948. Routledge. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-134-74944-7.
  13. ^ "Liberian Missionary". The Morning Union. 1919-10-02. Retrieved 2024-11-08 – via Newspapers.com.