This man from Guilford leaves a legacy of learning that still has an impact today.

Hosea Ballou II was born in Guilford on this day in 1796.

Ballou would become a leader in the field of higher education, earning an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Harvard.

But Ballou is best remembered as a Universalist clergyman, theologian, historian and as the first president of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.

He was Tufts' first professor of history and first professor of intellectual philosophy. Ballou established the first curriculum for the college. He died in office.

After Ballou's death, his considerable, personal library was donated to the school. It remains a centerpiece of Tufts's collection, to this day.

The Vermont Book Of Days photo.

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