John Harvard (clergyman), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

John Harvard (clergyman)

English-American clergyman and philanthropist

Date of Birth: 26-Nov-1607

Place of Birth: Southwark, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 14-Sep-1638

Profession: pastor, theologian

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

John Harvard (1607–14 September 1638) was an English minister in Colonial America and the namesake of Harvard University. Known as "a godly gentleman and a lover of learning", his deathbed bequest to the "schoale or Colledge" founded two years earlier by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was so gratefully received that it was consequently ordered "that the Colledge agreed upon formerly to bee built at Cambridg shalbee called Harvard Colledge." Harvard considers him the most honored of its founders – those whose efforts and contributions in its early days "ensure[d] its permanence," and a statue in his honor is a prominent feature of Harvard Yard.