Educator. He was the founder of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Temple University. Born in Worthington, Massachusetts in 1843, he began attending Yale in 1860, but enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 after the outbreak of the Civil War. He was commissioned as Captain and commander of Company F, 46th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, which was an nine-months enlistment regiment that saw action in North Carolina. After the war he held several jobs as a lawyer, lecturer, editor, and newspaper correspondent. While he was practicing as a lawyer, he never took a case that he did not fully believe in. As a lecturer, his most famous lecture was “Acres of Diamonds”. This was inspired by his trip to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. His guide told him a story about a man, Ali Hafed, who looked all over the world for the most brilliant diamonds. He finally died never finding them. Shortly after he died, they were found on Ali Hafed’s own property.  He gave this lecture over 6,000 times during his lifetime.  In 1884, he began tutoring a young man to become a minister. Soon after, other young men also came to Conwell to be tutored. This was the beginnings of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was incorporated in 1888. Russell Conwell was the university’s first president, and he died in 1925. (bio by: GraveGirl)  Family links:  Parents:  Martin Conwell (____ – 1874)  Maranda Conwell (____ – 1877)  Spouses:  Jennie P Hayden Conwell (____ – 1871)  Sarah Frances Sanborn Conwell (1843 – 1910)*  Children:  Leon Martin Conwell (1870 – 1953)*  Sibling:  Hattie M Conwell Ring (____ – 1904)*  Russell Herman Conwell (1843 – 1925) *Calculated relationship