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Edman, V. Raymond (Victor Raymond), 1900-1967.

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1900 - 1967

Biographical Statement

Victor Raymond Edman was born in 1900 to Swedish immigrant parents and one of six children. He left home in 1918 to join the army and served for one year, spending much of that time in Allied-occupied Germany. After returning home, he attended college and became a missionary to the Quichua Indians in Ecuador from 1923 to 1928. During this time he married Edith Olson, whom he had met in the United States. He came to Wheaton College in 1936 as an associate professor of history and became the college’s fourth president in 1940, a position he held until he became chancellor in 1965.

During his term as president, the College expanded its financial endowments, its enrollment, and its campus. Fourteen major buildings were erected during his twenty-five year presidency. Buildings included Centennial Gymnasium, Memorial Student Center, Old Dining Hall, Smith Hall, Breyer Science Building, McAlister Conservatory, Health Center, Nicholas Library and Edman Chapel, named by the Trustees in his honor. During this time the College also acquired land for the Black Hills Science Station in South Dakota and HoneyRock Camp in Wisconsin.

Over the years Dr. Edman had a number of serious health problems: typhoid fever (from which he nearly died while in Ecuador), cataracts, gallstones, and ever-increasing heart attacks. One of these attacks, which finally proved fatal, occurred on September 22, 1967, while he delivered a chapel message entitled, “In the Presence of the King.”

Dr. Edman had been a very active public speaker with engagements in Africa, Europe, the Far and Near East, South America, and, of course, all over the United States. He authored nineteen books and numerous articles, most of them devotional in nature. Many were translated into several foreign languages. His correspondence often gave personal counsel and advice and reached thousands. He was a personal friend of Billy Graham and often worked with him on his crusades.

Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:

Collection 052 Oral History Interview with Esther Salzman

 Collection
Identifier: CN 052
Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Esther I. Salzman (1906-1996), a Wheaton College alumna and missionary to China in the 1940s and to the Philippines from 1950 to 1972. Topics discussed include her education at Wheaton College, medical work in China and the Philippines, and Communism in China. The time period covered by the interview is 1906 to 1978.

Esther Salzman was interviewed by Wheaton College student Fred Baker on October 28, 1978 at her home in Kankakee, IL.

Dates: Created: 1978

Collection 169 Oral History Interviews with Harold P. Adolph

 Collection
Identifier: CN 169
Scope and Contents Oral History Interview with Harold Paul Adolph, in which he discusses his boyhood in China as the son of missionaries with China Inland Mission, conditions in China, his education at Wheaton College, medical education at the University of Pennsylvania, decision to become a missionary, and his ministry in Ethiopia as a medical missionary in African with Sudan Interior Mission; American missions in Ethiopia; family life on the mission field, and work with the Christian Medical Society. The...
Dates: Created: 1981

Collection 263 Oral History Interview with Margaret Carlson

 Collection
Identifier: CN 263
Scope and Contents Oral history interviews with Margaret Johanna (Larson) Carlson in which she describes growing up in Ecuador as the child of missionaries, her education at Westmont and Wheaton Colleges, her nursing experience, and her missionary service with her husband at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Seminary in Hong Kong. Other topics discussed include: the founding of a HCJB radio station by her father, Reuben Larson, and her involvement in Wheaton College's HNGR Program. Individuals described...
Dates: Created: 1983

Helen Renich Papers.

 Collection
Identifier: CN 124
Brief Description Two oral history interviews with Helen Gignilliat Torrey Renich in which she describes her grandfather, Reuben Archer Torrey, Sr., and her experiences growing up in China as a child of missionaries. Other topics discussed include her experiences at Wheaton College and culture shock. The collection also includes photographs of her family life in China and Chinese nationals, ca. 1920-30s.Helen Renich was interviewed by Robert Shuster on May 15, 1980 in Michigan and on May 17, 1982...
Dates: Created: 1920-1982

Filtered By

  • Subject: China -- History. X

Additional filters:

Subject
Children of missionaries. 3
China -- History -- 1937-1945. 3
Church and state. 3
Communism -- China. 3
Communism. 3
∨ more
Evangelistic work -- China. 3
Indigenous church administration 3
Medical care -- China. 3
Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election. 3
Missionaries. 3
Missions -- Educational work. 3
Missions, Medical. 3
Persecution. 3
Women 3
Women -- Religious life. 3
Women missionaries. 3
Boarding schools. 2
Catholic Church. 2
Children -- Religious life. 2
Children. 2
China -- History -- Civil War, 1945-1949. 2
Chinese -- Missions. 2
Chinese. 2
Christianity and culture. 2
Church and social problems. 2
Conversion. 2
Education, Higher 2
Education, Higher -- United States. 2
Evangelicalism. 2
International relief. 2
Missionaries -- Leaves and furloughs. 2
Nursing. 2
Persecution -- China. 2
Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945. 2
Tribes. 2
World War, 1939-1945. 2
Amharic language. 1
Animism -- Ethiopia. 1
Animism. 1
Belief and doubt. 1
Bible colleges. 1
Boarding schools -- China. 1
Boarding schools -- Ecuador. 1
Boarding schools -- Korea. 1
Catholic Church -- Protestant churches. 1
Catholic Church. -- China. 1
Catholic Church. -- Hong Kong 1
Catholic Church. -- Philippines. 1
Children -- Conversion to Christianity. 1
Children of missionaries -- China. 1
China -- History -- 1912-1937. 1
China -- History -- Boxer Rebellion, 1899-1901. 1
China -- History -- Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976. 1
China. 1
Christian education -- United States. 1
Christian education. 1
Christianity and other religions. 1
Church and social problems -- Ecuador. 1
Church and social problems -- Hong Kong. 1
Church and state -- China. 1
Church and state -- Ecuador. 1
Church and state -- Ethiopia. 1
Church work with women -- China. 1
Church work with women. 1
College students -- United States 1
College students -- United States -- Religious life. 1
College students in missionary work. 1
College students. 1
Colombia 1
Colombia -- Description and travel. 1
Communism -- Ethiopia. 1
Economic and social conditions 1
Economic and social conditions -- Hong Kong 1
Ecuador 1
Ecuador -- Description and travel. 1
Education 1
Education -- United States. 1
Ethiopia 1
Ethiopia -- History 1
Ethiopia -- History -- Revolution, 1974. 1
Ethiopia -- Religion. 1
Evangelicalism -- United States. 1
Evangelistic work -- Asia. 1
Evangelistic work -- Australia. 1
Evangelistic work -- Canada. 1
Evangelistic work -- Ethiopia. 1
Evangelistic work -- Hong Kong. 1
Evangelistic work -- Philippines. 1
Evangelistic work -- South America. 1
Evangelistic work -- United States. 1
Family. 1
Footbinding 1
Footbinding -- China. 1
Fundamentalism. 1
Funeral rites and ceremonies -- Hong Kong 1
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