Timothy L. Smith

American historian

Timothy Lawrence Smith
Born	April 13, 1924 South Carolina
Died	January 20, 1997 West Palm Beach, Florida
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Historian, Educator
Known for	First American Evangelical Historian to become notable in research and higher education

Timothy Lawrence Smith (April 13, 1924 – January 20, 1997) was a historian and educator, known as the first American evangelical historian to gain notoriety in research and higher education.

Early life and education

Smith was born April 13, 1924^[1] in Central, South Carolina,^[2] the son of Nazarene ministers.^[3] He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees^[4] from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa student, and his doctoral degree in history from Harvard University^[2] under Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.^[5]^[6]

Career

He has been described as "the first evangelical historian in the U.S. to make it in the secular research university."^[7]

Smith began his teaching career at the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in 1949 and left in 1954 to take a position at East Texas State University.^[8] During his time at ENC, he was the first director of Quincy School Department-sponsored College Courses, Inc., after which fellow Eastern Nazarene history professor Charles W. Akers transformed it into Quincy Junior College and served as its first full-time director.^[8] He later went on the teach at the University of Minnesota before becoming director of the American Religious History doctoral program^[9] and Chair of the Education Department at the Johns Hopkins University,^[7]^[10] where he taught for 25 years.^[7]

Smith received numerous awards and honors, and served as president of both the American Society of Church History,^[4] and the Society of Religious Historians.^[2] He was also an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, and pastored churches in Massachusetts, Maine, and Colorado.^[7]

Published works

A prolific author who published in nearly every historical journal, Smith's best-known and most-praised work is his 1957 book Revivalism and Social Reform,^[11] formed from his dissertation from Harvard,^[5] which received the Brewer prize from the American Society of Church History.^[2] Smith also wrote a history of the Church of the Nazarene, Called Unto Holiness, which Smith considered his most outstanding accomplishment.^[7]

Legacy

Smith retired to Burke, Virginia but died at age 72 in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 20, 1997, after several strokes.^[2]

The Wesleyan Theological Society at Northwest Nazarene University established a book award in honor of Smith and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop in 1999, and presents an award annually.^[12] The 2008 recipient of the award, Randall J. Stephens, currently teaches at the Eastern Nazarene College, as well.^[13]

Notes and references

^ Legacy.com Obituaries
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Washington Post: Obituaries, January 24, 1997
^ Nazarene.org: Timothy Smith and the Recovery of the Nazarene Vision
^ ^a ^b Wipf and Stock Publishers: Author Timothy L. Smith
^ ^a ^b Librarything.com: Timothy L. Smith
^ Wesley Center for Applied Theology: "THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE WESLEYAN/HOLINESS TRADITION" by David Bundy
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Christianity Today: "Obituary: Historian Smith, 72, Dies" posted 4/07/1997 12:00AM
^ ^a ^b James R. Cameron Center: History of the History Department at Eastern Nazarene College Archived 2009-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
^ Wesley Center for Applied Theology: SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE by Timothy L. Smith
^ University of Notre Dame: The story of Notre Dame, the Restless Christian College Conference, October 10, 1968, James Burtchaell, C.S.C, Chair
^ James R. Cameron Center at Eastern Nazarene College: Contemporary reviews of Revivalism and Social Reform
^ Wesley Theological Society: Timothy L. Smith and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop Book Award
^ Harvard University Press: The Fire Spreads" by Randall J. Stephens, 2008 Smith-Wynkoop Book Award