Henry Fowle Durant was an American lawyer, evangelist, philanthropist who determined to devote their country home in Wellesley and the considerable fortune accumulated from his profession and from successful business ventures, to the education of young women.
Background
Henry Fowle Durant was born on February 20, 1822 in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. He was the son of William and Harriet (Fowle) Smith, who christened him Henry Welles, but in 1851, owing to the fact that eleven Boston lawyers bore the name Smith, he adopted that of Durant.
Education
Henry was sent to the Rev. and Mrs. Samuel Ripley of Waltham to be prepared for Harvard, which he entered in 1837. The learning, versatility, and character of Mrs. Ripley seem to have made upon him a more lasting impression than any of the influences of an undistinguished college career.
Upon receiving his degree in 1842, he began the study of law with his father, and at the age of twenty-one, was admitted to the bar.
Career
After five years’ practise in Lowell, Durant moved to Boston, and here for seventeen years, with a success that was the wonder and the envy of his fellow lawyers, he pleaded cases at the Suffolk Bar.
His rapid rise is attributed not only to his merciless cross-examination, his dramatic ability and skill in presentation, but also to his unsparing attention to detail. His defense in the “Eliot School Case, ” which concerned the reading of the Bible in the public school, is one of his best-known arguments. The loss of this child brought about a great change in Mr. Durant’s activities and purposes. Abruptly abandoning the law, he turned to the service of Christianity, and for some years conducted revival meetings in churches of eastern Massachusetts. Meanwhile, he and his wife had become interested in Mount Holyoke, of which he became a trustee in 1867.
From the time of obtaining the charter of Wellesley (1870) until his death, Mr. Durant’s history is identified with that of the college. In name, he was the treasurer; in fact, the physical plant, the faculty, the curriculum, and the health and conduct of the students, were the intimate concern of the founder, who brought to the college the same zest and emotional intensity which he had given to the law.
Abruptly abandoning the law, Durant turned to the service of Christianity, and for some years conducted revival meetings in churches of eastern Massachusetts. To him higher education and the forming of Christian character were synonymous, but this did not lessen his appreciation of the necessity for laboratories and first-hand materials for scholarly work.
Personality
Durant’s appearance was striking. His features were clear-cut, his eyes dark and brilliant, and his hair, black in his youth, was always worn longer than the mode. In character he was a perplexing combination of dreamer and master of of practical detail, of fanatic and man of affairs. His wit was keen, his courage undaunted, his love of beauty unfailing.
Connections
On May 23, 1854 Durant married his cousin, Pauline Adeline Fowle, and to them were born Henry Fowle, Jr. , and Pauline Cazcnove. The daughter lived but two months, the son to the age of eight.