Thomas William Humes

Born in Knoxville in 1815, Thomas William Humes was an Episcopal clergyman and educator whose life was closely tied to East Tennessee. He graduated from East Tennessee College while still very young, later entered the ministry, and became rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Knoxville.

During the Civil War, Humes was known for his Union sympathies, a stance that cost him his church position for a time. After the war, he was chosen to lead East Tennessee University, later the University of Tennessee, serving as president from 1865 to 1883 and helping steady the institution in the difficult years after the conflict.

He also wrote about the region's wartime experience, most notably in The Loyal Mountaineers of Tennessee. Remembered as both a churchman and a builder of higher education in Tennessee, Humes remains an important figure in Knoxville and University of Tennessee history.