Porter, Noah

Noah (1811-1892), an American college president. He was born at Farmingham, Connecticut, December 14, 1811, and died at New Haven, March 4, 1892. He was graduated at Yale in 1831, but remained to tutor and to study theology. He was pastor of the Congregational Church at New Milford, Connecticut, and later at Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1846 he was appointed Yale professor of moral philosophy and metaphysics. In 1871 he was chosen president of Yale, a position he held for fifteen years. As compared with that of Harvard during the same period, his administration was conservative. He stood closely by the classics. The endowment of Yale was increased, however, and new buildings were erected. A list of his more prominent writings includes a dozen titles. The best known are Books and Reading, a guide to the use or purchase of a library; and The Human Intellect. The latter has had a wide use as a college text. His name appeared also as the editor-in-chief of various editions of Webster's Unabridged.