Henry Cowles

Born in Norfolk, Connecticut, in 1803, he studied at Yale College and Yale Divinity School before entering Congregational ministry. After early work in Ohio, he became one of the formative figures at Oberlin, teaching in its theological department and helping shape the school in its early decades.

He is best known as a biblical scholar and commentator. Alongside teaching subjects including ecclesiastical history, pastoral theology, and Hebrew, he edited the Oberlin Evangelist and went on to publish a large set of scriptural commentaries, including volumes on the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, and the Minor Prophets.

Sources about his papers and career at Oberlin also describe his strong anti-slavery commitments and support for the rights of freedpeople. He died in 1881, remembered as a teacher, preacher, and writer whose work tried to make serious biblical study useful in ordinary Christian life.