author
F. L. Hawks (Francis Lister Hawks) Pott
1864–1947
An American Episcopal missionary and educator, he spent more than half a century in China and became one of the central figures in the history of St. John's University in Shanghai. He also wrote about modern China and Shanghai for English-language readers of his day.
1 Audiobook
Lessons in the Shanghai Dialect
by F. L. Hawks (Francis Lister Hawks) Pott
About the author
Born in New York City in 1864, Francis Lister Hawks Pott studied at Columbia and the General Theological Seminary before going to China as an Episcopal missionary. He arrived in Shanghai in the late 1880s and soon began the work that would define his life.
Pott is best known for his long leadership of St. John's College, later St. John's University, in Shanghai, where he served as president from 1888 to 1941. Under his guidance, the school became one of the most prominent Christian universities in China, known for its English-language education and influence on generations of students.
Alongside his educational work, he wrote books on China and Shanghai, including works on the Boxer uprising and the city's history. His career places him at the crossroads of religion, education, and the encounter between China and the English-speaking world in a period of enormous change.