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 3 Collections and/or Records:

Collection 105 Oral History Interview with Paul D. Votaw

Collection

Identifier: CN 105

Scope and Contents Oral history interview with Paul Dean Votaw (1917-2007) in which he describes his childhood; education at Wheaton College, Dallas Seminary, and Princeton Seminary; and missionary activities in Syria and Lebanon. The time period covered by the interview is roughly 1917-1954.Reverend Paul Votaw was interviewed by Robert Shuster on March 4, 1980, at the Graham Center offices in Wheaton. The first ten minutes of the interview are barely decipherable due to technical difficulties. The...

Dates: Created: 1980

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 105 Oral History Interview with Paul D. Votaw

Collection 328 Papers of Eric and Lydia Maillefer

Collection

Identifier: CN 328

Scope and Contents Oral history interviews, speech manuscripts and prayer letters relating to the careers and ministries of Eric and Lydia Maillefer as missionaries and Christian workers with the Evangelical Free Church in Zaire, Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar (AEAM), and the Africa Evangelical Office (AEO). Lydia worked as a teacher and school administrator; Eric worked first as a teacher, then on loan as a conference coordinator to the Africa Evangelical Office, and later as administrative secretary...

Dates: Created: 1971-1991

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 328 Papers of Eric and Lydia Maillefer

Collection 567 Papers of H. Wilbert Norton

Collection

Identifier: CN 567

Scope and Contents Oral history interviews, photographs, correspondence, reports, minutes, budgets, pamphlets, and manuscripts relating to Gustav H.W. Norton's (1915-2017) work as an administrator and professor of theology and missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Wheaton College, as well as his involvement with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Evangelical Literature Overseas, and Mid-American Keswick. The collection documents Norton’s childhood, education, and career as professor of missions...

Dates: Created: 1950-2000

Found in: Evangelism & Missions Archives / Collection 567 Papers of H. Wilbert Norton

Filtered By

Subject: Evangelistic work X
Subject: Missionaries -- Appointment, call, and election. X
Subject: Ecumenical movement. X

Archives of Wheaton College

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

Dates

Biographical Statement

Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:

Collection 105 Oral History Interview with Paul D. Votaw

Collection 328 Papers of Eric and Lydia Maillefer

Collection 567 Papers of H. Wilbert Norton

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