John Baldwin

Who was John Baldwin?

John Baldwin was an American educator, and the founder of Baldwin Institute in Berea, Ohio, which would eventually merge into Baldwin–Wallace College. He was also the founder of Baker University and Baldwin City, Kansas, and contributed money to start schools in Bangalore, India that are today called Baldwin Boys High School and Baldwin Girls High School.

Born in Connecticut, Baldwin originally was a teacher in Maryland and Connecticut before moving to Ohio in the late 1820s. He became part of the lyceum movement, and situated himself in Berea, Ohio. He opened up Baldwin Institute in 1846 upon seeing the dissolution of the Norwalk Seminary. Nine years later, the Institute became Baldwin University. He moved to Kansas around 1857, laying the foundation for Baldwin City, Kansas, as well as Baker University. In his later life, he purchased a Louisiana plantation, and made contributions to education in India late in his life.