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 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

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 169 Oral History Interviews with Harold P. Adolph

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

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 263 Oral History Interview with Margaret Carlson

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Subject: Evangelistic work X
Subject: Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election. X
Subject: Children -- Religious life. X

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