Bascom, John

BASCOM, JOHN: Congregationalist; b. at Genoa, N. Y., May 1, 1827. He was educated at Williams College (BA., 1849) and Andover Theological Seminary (1855). He was a tutor in Williams College in 1852-53 and professor of rhetoric in the same institution from 1855 to 1874. In the latter year he was chosen president of the University of Wisconsin, where he remained until 1887. He then returned to Williams College as lecturer on sociology, and four years later was appointed professor of political science, holding this position until 1903. He is an adherent of the new theology of the Congregational type, and has written: Political Economy (Andover, 1859); Æsthetics (New York, 1862); Philosophy of Rhetoric (1865); Principles of Psychology (1869); Science, Philosophy, and Religion (1871); Philosophy of English Literature (1874); Philosophy of Religion (1876); Growth and Grades of Intelligence (1878); Ethics (1879); Natural Theology (1880); Science of Mind (1881); Words of Christ (1883); Problems in Philosophy (1885); Sociology (1887); The New Theology (1891); Historical Interpretation of Philosophy (1893); Social Theory (1895); Evolution and Religion (1897); Growth of Nationality in the United States (1899); and God and His Goodness (1901).