Acres of Diamonds together with His Life and Achievement by Robert Shackleton; With an Autobiographical Note

New York: Harper & Brothers, c1925. Memorial Edition stated on DJ. Hardcover. [12], 180, [2] pages. Occasional footnotes. Illustrations. Corners of some pages bumped. Red cloth. DJ, in pieces, with flaps separated, and states Memorial Edition. Conwell was the founder of Temple University, Philadelphia. Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphia, as the Pastor of The Baptist Temple, and for his inspirational lecture, "Acres of Diamonds". The original inspiration for "Acres of Diamonds", his most famous essay, occurred in 1869 when Conwell was traveling in the Middle East. The work began as a speech, "at first given," wrote Conwell in 1913, "before a reunion of my old comrades of the Forty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment" It was delivered as a lecture on the Chautauqua circuit prior to 1882 and was first published in book form in 1890 by the John Y. Huber Company. Conwell would deliver it over 6,152. The central idea is that one need not look elsewhere for opportunity, achievement, or fortune; the resources to achieve all good things are present in one's own community. This theme is developed by an introductory anecdote about a man who wanted to find diamonds so badly that he sold his property and went off in search for them. The new owner of his home discovered that a diamond mine was located right on the property. Conwell elaborates on the theme through examples of success, genius, service, or other virtues involving ordinary Americans contemporary to his audience. Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Baptist Temple. On May 12, 1888, it was renamed the Temple College of Philadelphia. By 1907, the institution revised its institutional status and was incorporated as a research university. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia and its pastor Russell Conwell, a Yale-educated Boston lawyer, orator, and ordained Baptist minister, who had served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Conwell came to Pennsylvania in 1882 to lead the Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia while he began tutoring working class citizens late at night to accommodate their work schedules. These students, later dubbed "night owls," were taught in the basement of Conwell's Baptist Temple (hence the origin of the university's name and mascot). The Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia quickly grew popular within the North Philadelphia area. A temporary board of trustees was created to handle the rapidly growing formalities associated with the church's programs. When the board conducted its first meeting they named Russell H. Conwell president of "The Temple College." Grace Baptist Church appointed a new board of trustees within the following months, printed official admissions files, and issued stock to raise funds for new teaching facilities. The church provided classrooms, and teachers, and financed the school in its early years. Regardless of whether they had the resources to support the school, The church and Conwell's desire was “to give education to those who were unable to get it through the usual channels”. In addition to the congregational giving and supporting the college, Conwell used the income from his “Acres of Diamonds” speech to fund Temple as a place where working-class Philadelphians might receive higher education. Philadelphia granted a charter in 1888 to establish “The Temple College of Philadelphia”, but the city refused to grant authority to award academic degrees. By 1888, the enrollment of the college was nearly 600. It was in 1907 that Temple College revised its institutional status and incorporated as a university. Legal recognition as a university enhanced Temple in noticeable ways including its reputation, professional and graduate programs, overall enrollment, and financial support. Over time, Temple expanded. The Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia also founded Samaritan Hospital, and Garretson Hospitals, a Medical School was added, and Temple merged with the Philadelphia Dental College. After the merger, Temple officially reincorporated as Temple University on December 12, 1907. Condition: Good / as is.

Keywords: Self-Help, Temple University, Fifty-Seven Cents, Fund-raising, Self-Improvement, Inspiration, Lectures, Orator, Preacher, Baptist Minister, Civil War

[Book #84348]

Price: $65.00

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