Image of Henry Van Dyke

Timeline

Lifetime: 1852 - 1933 Passed: ≈ 90 years ago

Title

Author, Educator, Minister, Diplomat

Country/Nationality

United States
Wikipedia

Henry Van Dyke

Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. was an American author, educator, diplomat, and clergyman.

Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. The younger Henry van Dyke graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School in 1869, Princeton University, in 1873 and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 1877.

He served as a professor of English literature at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. Among the many students whom he influenced was, notably, future celebrity travel writer Richard Halliburton (1900–1939), Editor-in-Chief, at the time, of the Princeton Pictorial.

Van Dyke chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was a lecturer at the University of Paris.

By appointment of President Woodrow Wilson, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. Shortly after his appointment, World War I threw Europe into dismay. Americans all around Europe rushed to Holland as a place of refuge. Although inexperienced as an ambassador, van Dyke conducted himself with the skill of a trained diplomat, maintaining the rights of Americans in Europe and organizing work for their relief. He later related his experiences and perceptions in the book Pro Patria (1921).

Van Dyke resigned as ambassador at the beginning of December 1916 and returned to the United States. He was subsequently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors.

Van Dyke was a friend of Helen Keller. Keller wrote: "Dr. van Dyke is the kind of a friend to have when one is up against a difficult problem. He will take trouble, days and nights of trouble, if it is for somebody else or for some cause he is interested in. 'I'm not an optimist,' says Dr. van Dyke, 'there's too much evil in the world and in me. Nor am I a pessimist; there is too much good in the world and in God. So I am just a meliorist, believing that He wills to make the world better, and trying to do my bit to help and wishing that it were more.'"

He officiated at the funeral of Mark Twain at the Brick Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1910.

Van Dyke died on April 10, 1933. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery. A biography of Van Dyke, titled Henry Van Dyke: A Biography, was written by his son Tertius van Dyke and published in 1935.

Books by Henry Van Dyke

The Spirit of Christmas Cover image

The Spirit of Christmas

Essays Religion
Christianity Short Works Prayer

A short Christmas book by American author, educator, and clergyman Henry Van Dyke, including a short story, two essays, and two prayers for the season.

The Story of the Other Wise Man  Cover image

The Story of the Other Wise Man

Fiction Novel
Young Dream Christianity Jesus

You know the story of the Three Wise Men of the East, and how they travelled from far away to offer their gifts at the manger-cradle in Bethlehem. But have you ever heard the story of the Other Wise Man, who also saw the star in its rising, and set o...

The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time Cover image

The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time

Poetry
War Poems Hope Music Verses Peace Adversity

In the midst of the tumultuous chaos of war, a single red flower blooms, a symbol of resilience and hope amidst the darkness. Henry van Dyke's collection of poems, "The Red Flower: Poems Written in War Time," captures the essence of humanity's strugg...