John Milton Gregory was one of the educational leaders of the generation that has just passed from the stage. He was born at Sand Lake, in Rensselaer County, New York, on July 6th, 1822. His early training was obtained in the district schools and he became himself a district school teacher at the age of seventeen. Three years later, apparently destined for the profession of law, he entered Union College at Schenectady, New York, But after graduating in 1846, he gave up the study of law to enter the ministry of the Baptist Church. His heart, however, was in teaching, and in 1852 he became head of a classical school in Detroit, Michigan. Almost immediately he was recognized as a leader in the educational councils of the state. In 1868, when the University of Illinois was established under the name, 'Illinois State Industrial University,' Dr. Gregory was asked to undertake the organization of the new institution. His work for thirteen years in laying the foundations of one of the largest and strongest of the state universities gives him a secure place in the history of American education. After leaving the University of Illinois he served for sometime as a member of the United States Civil Service Commission. The great work of his life, however, was the organization of the University, and just before he died in 1898 he asked that his body be laid to rest within the campus of the school for which he had done so much.
