Augustus Muhlenberg Swift
Augustus Muhlenberg Swift attended St. Paul’s School from 1862 to 1868 and is a member of the Form of 1867. From 1873 – 1883 Swift was a teacher at SPS, teaching History and English. His father, John Swift, was a Trustee of the School.
Pier’s St. Paul’s School 1855-1934 (pg. 109-112) describes his time at St. Paul’s School:
Bringing in an atmosphere of art, beauty, exquisiteness, not to say luxury and fashion, he was a pioneer in a school which hitherto had been accustomed to severe simplicity in all outward manifestations. . . He delighted to give dramatic recitations and to act. . . his temperament was that of the artist. . .
Unfortunately, Mr. Swift’s career at St. Paul’s was all too short. A severe illness compelled him to withdraw from the school in 1880 for the better part of a year. He was never in quite robust health afterwards. In 1884 he married and obtained a leave of absence for a year. He and his wife went to Italy for their honeymoon; in Rome he was stricken by a fever and died. The first organ in the New Chapel was given by his friends among the old boys of the school as a memorial to him. As lovable as he was talented, of priceless influence in mellowing and humanizing the spirit of St. Paul’s, dying when he was still a young man, he should be remembered as one who made a permanent contribution to the character and tone of the school.
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Persons: Swift, Augustus Muhlenberg
Type: Image, Photograph
Time Frame: 1860s, 1870s, 1880s
Form Year: 1867
Rectorship: 1856-1895: First Rector H. A. Coit Years
Creator: Kimball, Willis G. C.
Collection: 0005 - Photographs: Other Personal Albums
This item is part of: Library St. Paul’s School Album, olda_000182
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Kimball, Willis G. C. "Augustus Muhlenberg Swift." St. Paul's School. Ohrstrom Library Digital Archives. Web. 22 Dec. 2024.
