View source for Frederic W. Boatwright

{{Short description|American academic administrator (1868–1951)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
 | honorific_prefix   = 
 | name               = Frederic W. Boatwright
 | image              = Frederic W Boatwright.jpg
 | alt                = 
 | order              = 
 | office             = President of the [[University of Richmond]]
 | term_start         = 1895
 | term_end           = 1946
 | predecessor        = [[Tiberius G. Jones]]
 | successor          = [[George M. Modlin]]
 | birth_name         = Frederic William Boatwright
 | birth_date         = {{birth date|1868|01|28}}
 | birth_place        = [[White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia]], U.S.
 | death_date         = {{death date and age|1951|10|31|1868|01|28}}
 | death_place        = [[Richmond, Virginia]], U.S.
 | resting_place      = [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]]
 | spouse             = {{marriage|Ellen Moore Thomas|December 23, 1890}}
 | education          = [[University of Richmond|Richmond College]]
}}

'''Frederic William Boatwright''' (January 28, 1868 – October 31, 1951) was [[President of the University of Richmond|president of Richmond College]], now the [[University of Richmond]], from 1895 to 1946.

Born in [[White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia]], Boatwright entered Richmond College in 1883 at the age of 15.  He graduated with a [[Master of Arts]] degree in 1888 and pursued graduate study at the [[University of Halle]], [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]], and the [[University of Leipzig]]. He married Ellen Moore Thomas on December 23, 1890.<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|date=1997|page=31|isbn=9780313291333|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PBj5-zHEMvoC}}</ref> Elected president of Richmond College in 1895 at the age of twenty-seven, Boatwright led the university for 51 years, one of the longest terms of service of any college president.
In 1914, under Dr. Boatwright's leadership, the College moved from the [[Fan district]] of downtown [[Richmond Virginia|Richmond]] to its current [[The West End (Richmond, Virginia)|West End]] campus.

Boatwright was buried in [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]] in Richmond.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-richmond-news-leader-dr-boatwright/165957862/ |title=Dr. Boatwright Funeral Set for Tomorrow |date=1951-11-01 |newspaper=[[The Richmond News Leader]] |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2025-02-17}}{{Open access}}</ref>

Boatwright Memorial Library, opened in 1955 on the school's campus, is named in his honor.  [[Earl Hamner Jr.]], creator of the hit [[CBS]]-TV series ''[[The Waltons]]'', attended Richmond College during Boatwright's tenure, and named the fictional Boatwright University where the character of John-Boy Walton attended college after him.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080922002421/http://urhistory.richmond.edu/people/Boatwright.html History of the University of Richmond: People: Frederic William Boatwright]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080922010608/http://library.richmond.edu/about/history/index.htm Frederic William Boatwright - A History]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080922172804/http://oncampus.richmond.edu/news/richmondnow/May2006/look_back.htm A look back: Boatwright Library turns 50]

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|-<!---This line is a workaround for a bug in template s-vac--->
{{s-vac|last=[[Tiberius G. Jones]]|reason=Faculty-run administration}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[University of Richmond]]|years=1895&mdash;1946}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George M. Modlin]]}}
{{end}}

{{University of Richmond presidents}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatwright, Frederick W.}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:University of Richmond alumni]]
[[Category:University of Paris alumni]]
[[Category:University of Halle alumni]]
[[Category:Leipzig University alumni]]
[[Category:Presidents of the University of Richmond]]
[[Category:1951 deaths]]
[[Category:People from White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia]]
[[Category:American expatriates in France]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Germany]]
[[Category:Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)]]


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