James Manning

Who was James Manning?

James Manning was an American Baptist minister, educator and legislator from Providence, Rhode Island best known for being the first president of Brown University and one of its most involved founders. He was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. At the age of 18, he attended the Hopewell Academy under the direction of Rev. Isaac Eaton in preparation for his religious studies. In 1762, he graduated from the College of New Jersey, which later became Princeton University. He married Margaret Stites in that year and a few weeks after the marriage he was publicly ordained by the Scotch Plains, New Jersey Baptist Church.