William Cassaday Cattell

Rev. William Cassady Cattell D.D., LL.D (August 30, 1827 – February 11, 1898) was a Presbyterian divine and educator of the United States and the 7th president of Lafayette College.

Early life and education Cattell was born in Salem, New Jersey, on August 30, 1827, to Thomas and Keziah Cattell, a merchant and banker, respectively. He had five brothers and two sisters, one of his brothers, Alexander G. Cattell, later served as a New Jersey state senator.

Cattell started his schooling in Salem before studying for two years in Virginia under his older brother, Thomas, who later became a professor at Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Career Cattell's first job was as the associate principal at the Edgehill Preparatory School in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked for two years. In 1855, he a position teaching Latin and Greek at nearby Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Cattell taught at Lafayette College for five years. In 1860, he resigned to become a pastor at the Pine Street Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Cattell later took a sabbatical with Pardee's son, Ario Pardee Jr. in Europe to learn the practices of their institutions and bring back some of their knowledge to implement at Lafayette. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1871.

Personal life Cattell married Elizabeth McKeen, the daughter of Lafayette College board of trustees member James McKeen. Together they had two sons, Henry Ware Cattell, and James McKeen Cattell, the first professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and later a professor at Columbia University.

Death Cattell died on February 11, 1898, at his home in Philadelphia, due to complications stemming from heart conditions.