Henry Dunster (26 November 1609 – 27 February 1658) was President of Harvard College from 1640 to 1654.
Biography[]
Henry Dunster was born in Bolholt, Lancashire, England in 1609, and he became a scholar of Hebrew before emigrating to Boston, Massachusetts in 1640. That same year, Richard Mather steered Dunster's selection to lead colonial America's first college, Harvard College, in 1640. Dunster then fashioned Harvard's curriculum after their alma mater, Cambridge, turning the college into America's most elite higher education establishment. He served as its president until 1640 to 1654, and he died in 1658.