Leonard Jackson Powell, 1882-87
Born in Pike County, Kentucky in 1834 Powell was educated at the Wesleyan University of Delaware, Ohio and graduated in 1861. Before his service as President of the University of Washington Powell served fourteen years as a mathematics instructor at Willamette University in Salem, served as President of the Albany Collegiate Institute, and spent four years as Superintendent of Public Instruction in Oregon. Apart from academics, he was an ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Powell was chosen as President of the University of Washington in 1882 and served in the capacity until his death from cholera morbus on August 17, 1887, in Seattle, Washington at the age of 53 years.