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

Person

Staff Only

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 2 Collections and/or Records:

Collection 260 Oral History Interviews with Jeannette Thiessen

Collection

Identifier: CN 260

Scope and Contents Oral history interviews with Jeannette Louise Martig Thiessen (1927-2014) in which she discusses her family life in Illinois, favorite professors and her education at Wheaton College, nurses' training, and years in India (1952-1974) working with her husband under the sponsorship of the Mennonite Mission to the Lepers and American Leprosy Mission. Other topics discussed include: the Indian caste system, Indian politics, economics, literacy, hospital work with lepers, the Indian church,...

Dates: Created: 1983

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 260 Oral History Interviews with Jeannette Thiessen

Wheaton College Revivals Collection

Collection

Identifier: CN 514

Scope and Contents

Oral history interviews, questionnaires, reports, videos, and other materials relating to spontaneous revivals on Wheaton College campus in the twentieth century. There are restrictions on some material in this collection. The collection primarily documents the March 1995 revival at the College, largely through oral history interviews conducted during or shortly after the event; also included are thirteen follow-up interviews conducted two years after the revival.

Dates: Created: 1936-1997; Other: Majority of material found in 1994-1995

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Wheaton College Revivals Collection

Filtered By

Subject: Evangelistic work X
Subject: College students -- United States -- Religious life. X
Subject: Bible. X

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