Timothy Lawrence Smith (April 13, 1924 – January 20, 1997) was a historian and educator, known for his research and higher education.
Early life and education Smith was born April 13, 1924Legacy.com Obituaries in Central, South Carolina,Washington Post: Obituaries, January 24, 1997 the son of Nazarene ministers.Nazarene.org: Timothy Smith and the Recovery of the Nazarene Vision He earned his bachelor's and master's degreesWipf and Stock Publishers: Author Timothy L. Smith from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa student, and his doctoral degree in history from Harvard University under Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr.Librarything.com: Timothy L. SmithWesley Center for Applied Theology: "THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE WESLEYAN/HOLINESS TRADITION" by David Bundy
Career He has been described as "the first evangelical historian in the U.S. to make it in the secular research university."
Smith began his teaching career at the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in 1949 and left in 1954 to take a position at East Texas State University.James R. Cameron Center: History of the History Department at Eastern Nazarene College During his time at ENC, he was the first director of Quincy School Department-sponsored College Courses, Inc., after which fellow Eastern Nazarene history professor Charles W. Akers transformed it into Quincy Junior College and served as its first full-time director. He later went on the teach at the University of Minnesota before becoming director of the American Religious History doctoral programWesley Center for Applied Theology: SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE by Timothy L. Smith and Chair of the Education Department at the Johns Hopkins University,Christianity Today: "Obituary: Historian Smith, 72, Dies" posted 4/07/1997 12:00AMUniversity of Notre Dame: The story of Notre Dame, the Restless Christian College Conference, October 10, 1968, James Burtchaell, C.S.C, Chair where he taught for 25 years.
Smith received numerous awards and honors, and served as president of both the American Society of Church History, and the Society of Religious Historians. He was also an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, and pastored churches in Massachusetts, Maine, and Colorado.
Published works An author who published in nearly every historical journal, Smith's most-praised work is his 1957 book Revivalism and Social Reform,James R. Cameron Center at Eastern Nazarene College: Contemporary reviews of Revivalism and Social Reform formed from his dissertation from Harvard, which received the Brewer prize from the American Society of Church History. Smith also wrote a history of the Church of the Nazarene, Called Unto Holiness, which Smith considered his most outstanding accomplishment.
Legacy Smith retired to Burke, Virginia, and later died at age 72 in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 20, 1997, after several strokes.
The Wesleyan Theological Society at Northwest Nazarene University established a book award in honor of Smith and Mildred Bangs Wynkoop in 1999, and presents an award annually.
Notes and references
External links Nazarene.org: Historiography of Timothy L. Smith Nazarene.org: Smith's work online Christianity Today Smith Obit