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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

Collection 302 Oral History Interview with David L. Farah

 Collection
Identifier: CN 302
Scope and Contents Oral history interviews with David Livingstone Farah, in which he discusses his upbringing, education at Wheaton College, work as an administrator with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Peru and Bolivia, and relationships with other religious bodies, national groups and governments. Other topics include the 1950 revival at Wheaton College; Wycliffe jungle training in Mexico; the Catholic Church in Bolivia and the prevalence of syncretism; differences between Peru and Bolivia; description of...
Dates: Created: 1985

Filtered By

  • Subject: Evangelistic work X
  • Subject: Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election. X
  • Subject: Communism. X

Additional filters:

Subject
Catholic Church. 3
China -- History. 3
Communism -- China. 3
Culture shock. 3
Medical care 3
∨ more
Missionaries -- Leaves and furloughs. 3
Missions -- China. 3
Animism. 2
Catholic Church -- Protestant churches. 2
Children -- Religious life. 2
Children of missionaries. 2
Children. 2
China -- History -- 1937-1945. 2
Chinese -- Missions. 2
Chinese. 2
Christian education -- United States. 2
Christian education. 2
Christianity and culture. 2
Church and social problems. 2
College students in missionary work. 2
Education, Higher 2
Education, Higher -- United States. 2
Evangelicalism. 2
Evangelistic work -- China. 2
Indians of South America -- Missions. 2
Indians of South America. 2
Indigenous church administration 2
Language in missionary work. 2
Mass media in missionary work. 2
Mass media in religion. 2
Medical care -- China. 2
Missionaries -- Training of. 2
Missions -- Educational work. 2
Missions -- Finance. 2
Missions, Medical. 2
Nursing. 2
Persecution. 2
Tribes. 2
Women 2
Women -- Religious life. 2
Women missionaries. 2
World War, 1939-1945. 2
Amharic language. 1
Animism -- Bolivia. 1
Animism -- Ethiopia. 1
Bible -- Publication and distribution. 1
Bible -- Translating. 1
Bible. 1
Boarding schools -- Ecuador. 1
Boarding schools. 1
Bolivia -- Religion. 1
Bolivia. 1
Bolivia. -- Politics and government. 1
Catholic Church -- Bolivia. 1
Catholic Church. -- China. 1
Catholic Church. -- Hong Kong 1
Catholic Church. -- Philippines. 1
Children -- Conversion to Christianity. 1
China -- History -- Civil War, 1945-1949. 1
China -- History -- Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976. 1
China. 1
Christian martyrs -- Ecuador. 1
Christian martyrs. 1
Christianity and culture -- Bolivia. 1
Christianity and culture -- United States. 1
Christianity and other religions. 1
Christianity and politics -- Bolivia. 1
Christianity and politics. 1
Church and social problems -- Ecuador. 1
Church and social problems -- Hong Kong. 1
Church and state -- China. 1
Church and state -- Bolivia. 1
Church and state -- Ecuador. 1
Church and state -- Ethiopia. 1
Church work with students. 1
Cold War. 1
College students -- United States 1
College students -- United States -- Religious life. 1
College students. 1
Colombia 1
Colombia -- Description and travel. 1
Communism -- Ethiopia. 1
Community development -- Bolivia. 1
Community development. 1
Conversion. 1
Cults. 1
Economic and social conditions 1
Economic and social conditions -- Hong Kong 1
Ecuador 1
Ecuador -- Description and travel. 1
Ethiopia 1
Ethiopia -- History 1
Ethiopia -- History -- Revolution, 1974. 1
Ethiopia -- Religion. 1
Evangelicalism -- United States. 1
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