Timothy Dwight

Timothy Dwight (1752-1817), American clergyman and educator, grandson of the American theologian Jonathan Edwards, born in Northampton, Massachusetts, and educated at Yale College (now Yale University). He remained at Yale for six years as a tutor and later served as a chaplain in the army during the American Revolution. Dwight was pastor at Greenfield, Connecticut, from 1783 to 1795, when he became president of Yale College, a position he held for the remainder of his life.

At Yale Dwight worked to overcome religious indifference among the student body. He was a leader of the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival in the United States. His eloquent Yale Chapel sermons were published under the title Theology Explained and Defended (5 volumes, 1818-1819); they are his most important work. In his arguments and sermons, Dwight emphasized the duties to be performed by a Christian.

Among Dwight's other writings are several satirical works, including The Conquest of Canaan (1785) and The Triumph of Infidelity (1788).