John Milton Gregory is familiar to many Christian educators through his 19th-century publication, The Seven Laws of Teaching. For most readers of this important book, little is known about the author himself. This article explores the religious life and theological foundations of John Milton Gregory, who was both author of The Seven Laws of Teaching and founding president of the University of Illinois. Utilizing his spiritual diaries preserved in his daughter's biography of her father and archival sources from the University of Illinois, this essay offers a theological and spiritual understanding of this important historical figure.
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