Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Ridpath, John Clark

RIDPATH, JOHN CLARK, an American educator; born in Putnam co., Ind., April 26, 1840; was graduated at Indiana Asbury University in 1863; and later held a professorship in Baker University, Kansas. In 1869 he became Professor of English Literature at Asbury University, Indiana, and was elected its vice-president in 1879. Through his influence the endowment of nearly $2,000,000 was bestowed on the university by Mr. DePauw, whose name it now bears. In 1874-1875 he published a &ldquo;History of the United States&rdquo; which he supplemented with another in 1877. In 1876 he issued a &ldquo;School History,&rdquo; and in 1879 an &ldquo;English Grammar.&rdquo; Desiring to devote his whole time to literature, he resigned his university offices. In 1881, he published the &ldquo;Life of Garfield,&rdquo; a &ldquo;Life of J. G. Blaine&rdquo; in 1848, a &ldquo;Cyclopædia of History&rdquo; in 1880-1884, a &ldquo;History of Texas&rdquo; in 1884, &ldquo;Great Races of Mankind&rdquo; in 1894, &ldquo;Life and Times of Gladstone&rdquo; (1898), and &ldquo;A History of the United States&rdquo; (8 vols. 1900). He died in New York City, Aug. 1, 1900.