Cyrus Hamlin
Name
Institution
Date
Cyrus Hamlin
- Brief Background of Cyrus Hamlin
- Summing up the life of Chris Hamlin by identifying that he was a missionary, teacher, diplomat, and college president.
- Cyrus Hamlin birth and early childhood
Cyrus Hamlin born in Waterford, Maine, in 1811
- Education life- Attending a typical school a few weeks every year in his early years.
Attended Bridgton academy to prepare for ministry
Attended Bowdoin College where apart from ministry work, engaged in mechanical work and Christian courage.
Chris Hamlin was a 19th-century missionary, teacher, diplomat, and college president. All these were quite outstanding achievements in the 19th century, which necessitates a look into Hamlin’s life. He was born in Waterford, Maine, in 1811. Hamlin’s early life was on a farm where he grew up until he was 10. during these years, Hamlin would only attend school occasionally, precisely a few weeks in a year. In preparation for ministry, Hamlin went to Bridgton Academy in 1829 and proceeded to Bowdoin College, where he graduated in 1834. During his time at Bowdoin, Hamlin engaged in other courses such as Christian courage and mechanical work. One of his achievements from these courses was building a steam engine, which was the first-ever of Maine’s kind.
- The Missionary Work-Life
- Hamlin was among the individuals who helped in the founding of Bebek Seminary in Constantinople, where he later became the principal. (1840-1860)
- The introduction of various profit-making initiatives within the seminary advanced the students’ skills and helped construct various churches in Cypress (Hamlin, 1881).
- The bread-making initiative was the first to use Hop yeast in Turkey.
Immediately after getting to Constantinople, Hamlin got engaged in the founding of Bebek Seminary for boys. After the institution’s formation was complete, Hamlin would become a director or a principal of the school. During his tenure, he introduced various initiatives such as bread making to improve the students’ entrepreneurial and marketing skills. The initiative of bread making used hop yeast, which had not yet been actualized in Turkey, meaning that he gave the students valuable lessons and a competitive advantage (Fordham University, n.d).
The Missionary Work-Life
- The opposition of Hamlin’s profit-making initiatives by the authorities, fellow missionaries, and the leadership of ABCFM.
- Hamlin’s resignation from Bebek Seminary as a result of disputes on ‘secular labors’
However, this did not augur well with different stakeholders, such as authorities, fellow missionaries, and the leadership of ABCFM. However, Hamlin did not give in quickly as he continued to instill the values. Hamlin even had a standoff with the authorities who wanted to arrest them once. However, when it came to conflicts with fellow missionaries and the ABCFM, Hamlin opted for a resignation. They indicated that Hamlin was engaging the center in Secular labors leading to his resignation. He worked with the institution between 1840 and 1860.
- Map showing the Location of Constantinople in the 19th century
- Life after Bebek Seminary
- Collaboration with American philanthropist Christopher Robert found Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1863 (Emilov, 2020).
- Hamlin’s service as president of the College from 1863-1877 (Fildis, 2012).
- The challenges faced by Robert College
The beginning of a war which destabilized the operations of the College.
Hamlin’s spirit to overcome challenges by returning to the College after the war and renovating it to bring it back to its feet.
After the clashes at Bebek, Hamlin felt the need to establish a college near Istanbul in Turkey. With the help, funding, and collaboration of American philanthropist Christopher Robert, Hamlin founded the Robert College in 1863. Here, he would serve as the president until 1877, where a war erupted, forcing him to go back to his country. Upon return, the College was destabilized with the library, geological and biological specimen in a mess. His spirit to overcome challenges was exhibited when he renovated the College amid laughter from different stakeholders. The renovation brought the College back to shape and made it better by including a gymnasium and a starr boarding hall (Stone, 1990). Hamlin would retire in the year 1885 after leaving the College in good standing.
- Specific Works of Hamlin that led to the Restoration of Robert College
- Library renovation through the making of a convenient library from the unused north end of the Painter Hall
- Addition of new books to the library
- Sourcing for funds for renovations and therefore avoiding debts for the institution
- The building of the Starr Boarding Hall and the gymnasium.
- Opening doors of the classroom to women.
The specific works that Hamlin engaged in to restore the College to normalcy included the renovation of the library. To achieve this, Robert would use the north end of Painter Hall, which was previously unused. Since these renovations were costly, trustees thought that Hamlin would leave the institution in debt. However, he could acquire funding enough and manage the existing funds with only an excess of $1.50 that he paid from his pocket. Notably, Hamlin was the missionary who opened doors of the classroom to women, creating a new inclusivity era despite the numerous restrictions.
- Robert College, after the war- where the gymnasium, among other elements, was added to the College.
References
Emilov, Iliya. “Robert College–the First American College around the World.” Химия. Природните науки в образованието 29, no. 1 (2020): 69-84.
Fildis, Ayşe Tekdal. “The American Board’s Vision of Protestant Anatolia and Fostering Armenian Nationalism 1810–90.” Middle Eastern Studies 48, no. 5 (2012): 735-747.
Fordham University. (n.d). Islamic History Sourcebook: Dr. Cyrus Hamlin: Turkish Bread, 1907
Hamlin, Cyrus. Among the Turks. R. Carter, 1881.
Stone, F. “Against the Devil’s Current: The Life and Times of Cyrus Hamlin.” (1990): 251-255.