Charles Wesley Emerson

Charles Wesley Emerson (1837 - 1908) was the founder, namesake and first president of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Charles Emerson was also the author of a number of books dealing with oratory and a minister with the Unitarian Church.

Life and career 

Prior to establishing the College, Emerson was a minister who preached in Congregational and Unitarian parishes until 1885. In 1877, Charles Emerson enrolled in Boston University's School of Oratory where he studied Delsarte and Swedenborg under the direction and guidance of Professor Lewis B. Monroe.

In 1879, Emerson studied medicine in Philadelphia and conducted courses in elocution, expression, voice culture, art, and topics related to oratory at the Unitarian Church of Vineland, New Jersey.

Shortly after the death of Lewis B. Monroe and the closure of the School of Oratory at Boston University, Emerson opened the Boston Conservatory of Elocution, Oratory, and Dramatic Art in 1880. A year later, the name was changed to the Monroe Conservatory of Oratory, in honor of Monroe (now Emerson College).

During his time as president of the Conservatory, Emerson published a number of books including four volumes of The Evolution of Expression which became the core text in the Conservatory's curriculum.

In 1900, Henry and Jessie Eldridge Southwick purchased Emerson College. Emerson retired three years later and William James Rolfe took his place as president of the college.

Emerson believed that the ability to communicate was the key to achieving one's full potential. Emerson was confident that once a student completed his academic program, he would have future success, no matter what endeavor or profession they chose.

Emerson is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Millis, Massachusetts.

Books by Charles Wesley Emerson 

 Psycho vox; The Emerson system of voice culture (1897)
 Physical Culture (1891)
 Expressive Physical Culture (1900)
 Evolution of Expression - Volume 1 (1905)
  on Project Gutenberg
 Read on Manybooks.net

Notes

Sources 
 Short History of Emerson College
 Emerson College Image Archives

External links
 
 
 
Charles Wesley Emerson on Find a Grave

Category:1837 births
Category:1908 deaths
Category:Boston University alumni
Category:Presidents of Emerson College
Category:Emerson College faculty
Category:19th-century Unitarian clergy
Category:20th-century Unitarian clergy
Category:Burials at Prospect Hill Cemetery (Millis, Massachusetts)
Category:People associated with physical culture