Henry van Dyke

Henry Jackson van Dyke (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, and clergyman.

Biography

Henry van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School in 1869,Princeton University, in 1873 and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 1877. He served as a professor of English literature at Princeton between 1899 and 1923.

Van Dyke chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was a lecturer at the University of Paris.

By appointment of President Woodrow Wilson, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. Shortly after his appointment, World War I threw Europe into dismay. Americans all around Europe rushed to Holland as a place of refuge. Although inexperienced as an ambassador, van Dyke conducted himself with the skill of a trained diplomat, maintaining the rights of Americans in Europe and organizing work for their relief. Upon his resignation as ambassador, he returned to the United States. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors.