Robert Morrison

Robert Morrison, D.D. (March 15, 1822 – July 27, 1902) was an American Presbyterian minister, educator, and editor who was the principal founder of the Phi Delta Theta international college fraternity, suggesting the fraternity's creation and co-authoring the fraternity document known as The Bond.

Early life Morrison grew up in Ohio and entered Ohio University in 1839 as a scholarship student. He attended Ohio University for two years, returning home to help on the family farm and to teach school. He entered Miami University in 1846 and conceived the idea for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, which he founded with five other students on December 26, 1848. He later attended McCormick Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary.

Career Morrison's career as a minister, editor of religious publications, and teacher took him to Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. He edited the Louisville Presbyterian Herald from 1854 to 1860. He was also co-editor of the Louisville True Presbyterian, which was suppressed by Union military authorities in 1863, during the American Civil War. He was also the principal of Poplar Grove Academy in Rutherford County, Tennessee. After this he preached at various locations around Missouri, and founded churches in towns such as Gravois Mills and Tuscumbia.