Bliss, Daniel

Bliss, Daniel, 1823–1916, American missionary, b. Franklin co., Vt., founder of Syrian Protestant College (now the American Univ. of Beirut) in Lebanon. He went to Syria in 1855, returning in 1862 to secure funds and a charter for the college, which was opened in 1866; he was its president until 1902. His son,

Howard Sweetser Bliss, 1860–1920, b. Syria, grad. Amherst, 1882, and Union Theological Seminary, 1887, succeeded him as president and enlarged and liberalized the college.

Bibliography

See D. Bliss's Reminiscences (ed. by his son, 1920).

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Bliss, Daniel (1823–1916) Protestant missionary, educator; born in Georgia, Vt. He grew up on farms in Vermont and Ohio, graduated from Amherst in 1852, attended Andover Theological Seminary, and in 1855, went to Syria as a missionary. He founded the Syrian Protestant College (now American University), Beirut, Lebanon, in 1866. President and treasurer of the college until 1902, he continued to teach classes and deliver an occasional sermon after his retirement.