Dates

• Existence: 1875 - 1938

Biographical Note

William J. Devlin, Jesuit, professor, and Boston College president. Born in New York City in 1875, Devlin spent most of his childhood abroad in England and Ireland. He attended Stonyhurst College in England before being accepted to the English Province of the Society of Jesus in 1893. The death of his father in New York led Devlin to return to America, and enter the novitiate of the New York-Maryland Province in September of 1893. Beginning in 1901, Devlin taught for four years at Boston College as a professor before beginning his theology courses at Woodstock College in 1905. He was ordained in 1908. In 1910, Devlin returned to Boston College as a professor, and in 1914 was appointed dean. In 1919, he became the fifteenth president of Boston College. In 1925 he was appointed minister at St. Andrew on Hudson Jesuit seminary, and in 1926 he took the same position at Woodstock College. Devlin returned to St. Andrew as rector in 1927, where he stayed until 1933 when he was appointed rector of St. Ignatius Church in New York City. He died in 1938.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

William J. Devlin, SJ, President's Office records

 Collection

Identifier: BC-1986-020F

Abstract William J. Devlin, SJ, President’s Office records contain materials from the administration of William J. Devlin, the fifteenth president of Boston College. The collection spans 1915-1935 with the bulk dating from 1919-1925, and documents Devlin’s attempts to improve the Chestnut Hill campus, particularly through the construction of new buildings and the establishment of new programs. The records are composed of correspondence, subject files, and scrapbooks, and also include some material...

Restrictions on access

Collection is open for research; portions are available digitally.

"Father Rector's Office and President of Boston College" scrapbook in Series II is closed due to fragility. A photocopied duplicate of the scrapbook can be accessed in Box 4.

Dates: 1915 - 1935; Majority of material found within 1919 - 1925