William Rainey Harper

William Rainey Harper was an American academic and scholar of Hebrew and religious studies, best known as the first president of the University of Chicago, a position he held from 1891 until his death. He was a key figure in the development of American higher education and adult education, and he also served as a professor of Semitic languages at Yale. Harper authored numerous works on biblical and Hebrew subjects, though he is primarily remembered as an educational administrator.