Timothy Lawrence Smith (April 13, 1924 – January 20, 1997) was a historian and educator, known as the first American evangelical historian to gain notoriety in research and higher education.
Early life and education
Smith was born April 13, 1924[1] in Central, South Carolina,[2] the son of Nazarene ministers.[3] He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees[4] from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa student, and his doctoral degree in history from Harvard University[2] under Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.[5][6]
Career
He has been described as "the first evangelical historian in the U.S. to make it in the secular research university."[7]
Smith began his teaching career at the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in 1949 and left in 1954 to take a position at East Texas State University.[8] During his time at ENC, he was the first director of Quincy School Department-sponsored College Courses, Inc., after which fellow Eastern Nazarene history professor Charles W. Akers transformed it into Quincy Junior College and served as its first full-time director.[8] He later went on the teach at the University of Minnesota before becoming director of the American Religious History doctoral program[9] and Chair of the Education Department at the Johns Hopkins University,[7][10] where he taught for 25 years.[7]
Smith received numerous awards and honors, and served as president of both the American Society of Church History,[4] and the Society of Religious Historians.[2] He was also an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, and pastored churches in Massachusetts, Maine, and Colorado.[7]
Published works
A prolific author who published in nearly every historical journal, Smith's best-known and most-praised work is his 1957 book Revivalism and Social Reform,[11] formed from his dissertation from Harvard,[5] which received the Brewer prize from the American Society of Church History.[2] Smith also wrote a history of the Church of the Nazarene, Called Unto Holiness, which Smith considered his most outstanding accomplishment.[7]
Legacy
Smith retired to Burke, Virginia but died at age 72 in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 20, 1997, after several strokes.[2]
The Wesleyan Theological Society at Northwest Nazarene University established a book award in honor of Smith and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop in 1999, and presents an award annually.[12] The 2008 recipient of the award, Randall J. Stephens, currently teaches at the Eastern Nazarene College, as well.[13]
Notes and references
- ^ Legacy.com Obituaries
- ^ a b c d e Washington Post: Obituaries, January 24, 1997
- ^ Nazarene.org: Timothy Smith and the Recovery of the Nazarene Vision
- ^ a b Wipf and Stock Publishers: Author Timothy L. Smith
- ^ a b Librarything.com: Timothy L. Smith
- ^ Wesley Center for Applied Theology: "THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE WESLEYAN/HOLINESS TRADITION" by David Bundy
- ^ a b c d e Christianity Today: "Obituary: Historian Smith, 72, Dies" posted 4/07/1997 12:00AM
- ^ a b James R. Cameron Center: History of the History Department at Eastern Nazarene College Archived 2009-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wesley Center for Applied Theology: SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE by Timothy L. Smith
- ^ University of Notre Dame: The story of Notre Dame, the Restless Christian College Conference, October 10, 1968, James Burtchaell, C.S.C, Chair
- ^ James R. Cameron Center at Eastern Nazarene College: Contemporary reviews of Revivalism and Social Reform
- ^ Wesley Theological Society: Timothy L. Smith and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop Book Award
- ^ Harvard University Press: The Fire Spreads" by Randall J. Stephens, 2008 Smith-Wynkoop Book Award
External links
- Nazarene.org: Historiography of Timothy L. Smith
- Nazarene.org: Smith's work online
- Christianity Today Smith Obit
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