Reuben Webster Millsaps
Encyclopedia
Reuben Webster Millsaps (May 30, 1833 - June 30, 1916) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman, financier and philanthropist.

Early years/Education

He was born in Pleasant Valley, Copiah County, Mississippi
Copiah County, Mississippi
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,757 people, 10,142 households, and 7,494 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 11,101 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...

, into a farming family as the second child of nine. Millsaps attended Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...

) and Harvard University Law School, where he earned a law degree.

Civil War

He fought in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 as a soldier in the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 and was wounded twice during the war. He attained the military rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...

 of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

.

Post-war

After returning from the war he pursued a successful career in business and finance. He was a President of Capital State Bank in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

.
In 1890 Millsaps donated US$50,000, which was matched by contributions from Mississippi's Methodist community, for the creation of "a Christian college within the borders of our state". The college is now known as Millsaps College
Millsaps College
Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college located in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1890, the college is recognized as one of the country's best private colleges dedicated to undergraduate teaching and educating the whole individual. Affiliated with the United Methodist Church, Millsaps...

 and is located in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

.

Death

Reuben Webster Millsaps devoted the rest of his life to the building and running of the college. He died on June 30, 1916, at the age of 83, and is buried on the campus of Millsaps College in Jackson.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK