John R. Conniff

{{Short description|American educator and college president (1874–1957)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Robinson Conniff, Sr. | office = [[List of Presidents of Louisiana Tech University|7th President]] of [[Louisiana Tech University]] | term_start = 1926 | term_end = May 18, 1928 | preceded = [[John Keeny]] | succeeded = [[George W. Bond]] | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1874|1|20}} | birth_place = [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], USA | death_date = {{death date and age|1957|1|20|1874|1|20}} | death_place = New Orleans, Louisiana | resting_place = Garden of Memories in [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]], Louisiana | spouse = Bertha Drott Conniff (married 1905-1957, his death) | children = John Conniff, Jr. | parents = John Harris and Mary Orleana Robinson Conniff | occupation = [[Educator]]; [[College president]] | alma_mater = [[Tulane University]]<br /> [[University of Virginia]]<br /> [[Louisiana State University]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] }}

'''John Robinson Conniff, Sr.''' (January 20, 1874 – January 20, 1957)<ref name=grave>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Conniff&GSiman=1&GSst=20&GRid=111878952&|title=John Robinson Conniff, with headstone picture|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=August 6, 2013}}</ref> was an educator from [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], who served from 1926 to 1928 as the [[List of Presidents of Louisiana Tech University|seventh president]] of [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in [[Lincoln Parish, Louisiana|Lincoln Parish]] in [[North Louisiana]].

==Background==

Conniff was the oldest of five children born in New Orleans to the former Mary Orleana Robinson (1850-1917), whose family tree is traced to a family in [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] [[Delaware]],<ref name=chambers/> and John Harris Conniff (1850-1909),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67865967|title=John Harris Conniff|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=August 6, 2013}}</ref> the president of the Crescent News and Hotel Company with interests also in the New Orleans entertainment industry—the St. Charles Theatre, the Academy of Music, and the Grand Opera House. The senior Coniffs are interred at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67865971|title=Mary Orleana Robinson Conniff|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=August 6, 2013}}</ref>

Young Coniff graduated in 1890 from the high school of [[Roman Catholic]]-affiliated [[Tulane University]]. In 1894, he received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree from Tulane, where he became affiliated with [[Phi Delta Theta]] fraternity. Conniff then studied law for a year at the [[University of Virginia]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], [[Virginia (U.S. state)|Virginia]].<ref name=chambers/>

==Academic career==

From 1895 to 1900, Conniff taught [[English studies|English]] and [[Latin]] at Boys' High School in New Orleans; from 1900 to 1908, he was assistant superintendent of New Orleans public schools and from 1908 to 1910 the acting superintendent. In 1910, he moved to [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] to head the teacher certification division of the Louisiana Department of Education<ref name=chambers>[[Henry E. Chambers]], ''A History of Louisiana'', Vol. 2 ([[Chicago]] and [[New York City]]: American Historical Society, 1925), pp. 53-54</ref> under superintendent [[T. H. Harris]].

Conniff was a devotee of physical education and was the president of the first Tulane Baseball League and the Southern Athletic Club of New Orleans. In 1905, he helped to establish the Public School Athletic League of New Orleans and served as its long-term secretary. Considering his father's ownership of entertainment enterprises, Conniff participated in theatrical performances in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where he helped to create the Little Theatre Guild. In 1923, while working at the state education department, Conniff received his [[Master of Arts]] degree from [[Louisiana State University]] in Baton Rouge. His thesis entails a study of English drama and theatrical performances prior to 1642.<ref name=chambers/>

Like his father, Conniff was an active [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and a member of the [[National Education Association]] and the former white-only Louisiana Teachers Association, since the biracial Louisiana Association of Educators. He was a member of the Baton Rouge Golf and Country Club.<ref name=chambers/> Conniff relocated from Baton Rouge to Ruston in 1926 to become the president of Louisiana Tech, having succeeded [[John Keeny|John Ephraim Keeny]], who stepped down after eighteen years at the helm.

On leaving Louisiana Tech after two years at the helm, Conniff returned to New Orleans, where he joined the faculty of the all-male [[Warren Easton High School]], now a [[charter school]].<ref>[[Lee Harvey Oswald]] attended Warren Easton for just over a month in October 1957, ten months after Conniff's death.</ref> At Warren Easton, Conniff resumed his teaching of English and Latin. During summers he taught the [[History of Louisiana]] at his alma mater, Tulane University.<ref>''[[Ruston Daily Leader]]'', June 17, 1936, p. 4</ref>

==Death==

Conniff and his wife, the former Bertha Drott (1882-1971), had one son, John R. Conniff, Jr. (1906-1968).<ref name=chambers/> Conniff died on his 83rd birthday, also the day of the second [[inauguration]] of [[U.S. President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. The couple is interred at Garden of Memories in [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]] in [[Jefferson Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson Parish]] in suburban New Orleans.<ref name=grave/> John Coniff, Jr., however, is interred at St. Louis Cemetery No. 3 in New Orleans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Conniff&GSfn=John&GSmn=R&GSby=1906&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=34931853&df=all&|title=John Robinson Conniff, Jr.|publisher=findagrave.com|accessdate=August 6, 2013}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}} {{s-start}} {{succession box | before=[[John Keeny]] | title=[[List of Presidents of Louisiana Tech University|7th President]] of [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]], [[Louisiana]] John Robinson Conniff, Sr. | years=1926–1928 | after=[[George W. Bond]] }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conniff, John R.}} [[Category:1874 births]] [[Category:1957 deaths]] [[Category:Educators from New Orleans]] [[Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana]] [[Category:People from Ruston, Louisiana]] [[Category:Tulane University alumni]] [[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]] [[Category:Louisiana State University alumni]] [[Category:Presidents of Louisiana Tech University]] [[Category:Louisiana Democrats]] [[Category:Phi Delta Theta members]]