Tyler, Bennet, 1783-1858

Bennet Tyler (born July 10, 1783, Middlebury, Connecticut [U.S.] – died May 14, 1858, South Windsor, Connecticut [U.S.]), graduated from Yale in 1804 and was an American Congregational clergyman and educator. His reformed theology was called Tylerism, as opposed to the post-Reformed Taylorism of Nathaniel William Taylor. Tyler served as the College’s fifth president (1822-1828). Tyler was very devout, and he was especially interested in preaching in the College church, letting others do the teaching. He was successful in endowing the first scholarship at Dartmouth, intended for "the education of pious, indigent young men for the ministry". He also stabilized the enrollment, which had plummeted during the Revolutionary War. It was in 1824, during President Tyler's administration, that Dartmouth admitted its first African-American student, Edward Mitchell, in 1824. Tyler returned to the ministry after six years as Dartmouth President. He was a founder, theology professor, and president of the Theological Institute of Connecticut, now Hartford Seminary, from 1834 to 1857.