# Nathan Bodington

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'''Sir Nathan Bodington''' (29 May 1848 – 12 May 1911) was the first Vice Chancellor of the [University of Leeds](/source/University_of_Leeds) having been Principal and Professor of [Greek](/source/Greek_language) at the Yorkshire College since 1883.<ref name=ODNB>''[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)'' accessed 25 July 2009</ref> From 1897 to 1901 he was also Vice-Chancellor of the [Victoria University](/source/Victoria_University_(UK)).<ref>Charlton, H. B. (1951) ''[Portrait of a University](/source/Portrait_of_a_University), 1851-1951''. Manchester: Manchester University Press; p. 140</ref>

[[Image:Mason Science College.png|thumb|right|[Mason College, now the University of Birmingham](/source/Mason_Science_College)]]

Bodington was born in [Aston](/source/Aston), Birmingham, and educated at [King Edward's School, Birmingham](/source/King_Edward's_School%2C_Birmingham), and [Wadham College, Oxford](/source/Wadham_College%2C_Oxford), where he studied [classics](/source/classics).  He was a teacher at [Manchester Grammar School](/source/Manchester_Grammar_School) and [Westminster School](/source/Westminster_School), Professor of classics at [Mason College](/source/Mason_College), (which later became [Birmingham University](/source/Birmingham_University)), and Fellow of [Lincoln College, Oxford](/source/Lincoln_College%2C_Oxford).<ref name=ODNB/><ref name=Draper>Draper, W. (1912) ''Sir Nathan Bodington: a memoir''. London: Macmillan</ref>

Bodington was responsible for consolidating the Yorkshire College's position within the [Victoria University](/source/Victoria_University_(UK)) and later, when the fragmentation of members occurred, for obtaining the charter for the separate university in Leeds.<ref name=Draper/> His demeanour around the 1890s was described by a colleague thus:<ref name=":0">C. M. Gillespie, 'A Retrospect', ''The University of Leeds Review'', 1 (1948–49), 19–24 (p. 21).</ref>
<blockquote>though transplanted from an Oxford which was then almost exclusively devoted to classical studies, he adapted himself wonderfully to the direction of an institution which, always short of money, appealed for funds almost entirely on the ground of its utility to local industry. In public he has a formal, somewhat academic, manner, which was against him in his dealings with City Councillors and businessmen and suchlike: but in private he unbent and was excellent company, with a keen sense of humour. His greying beard made him look ten years older than he really was [...] Bodington was at his best in the chair at meetings of the Senate and other academic bodies, patient, courteous and impartial.</blockquote>

He was knighted in 1908.<ref name=LonGaz>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/28206/pages/9650 ''London Gazette''] 17 December 1908</ref>

He married Eliza, the daughter of [Sir John Barran](/source/Sir_John_Barran%2C_1st_Baronet), on 8 August 1907, but they had no children. As remembered by C. M. Gillespire, 'in his own house he was a charming host, but not until his happy marriage late in life was he able fully to indulge his gifts of hospitality'.<ref name=":0" />

Bodington died in [Headingley](/source/Headingley), [Leeds](/source/Leeds), on 12 May 1911.<ref name=ODNB/>

In 1961, the university opened [Bodington Hall](/source/Bodington_Hall) its largest hall of residence, named after him.<ref name=Leodis>[http://www.leodis.net/display.aspx?resourceIdentifier=200654_161267 Leodis] Bodington Hall, Adel Lane</ref> A housing estate on this site is now called Bodington Manor.<ref name=Manor>[http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/homes-set-to-be-built-on-former-university-site-in-leeds-as-market-recovers-1-6011503 ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' 4 September 2013] Homes set to be built on former university site in Leeds as market recovers</ref> From 1995 to 2012, Leeds University's [virtual learning environment](/source/virtual_learning_environment), a Leeds-built open-source system, was known as the Nathan Bodington Building.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Highton |first=Melissa |date=14 June 2016 |title=Sad loss of an open VLE pioneer |url=https://thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/melissa/2016/06/14/bodington/}}</ref>

==References==
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==Further reading==
*[http://www.thoresby.org.uk/content/people/bodington.php The Thoresby Society] Sir Nathan Bodington (1848–1911)

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{{succession box
 | before=[Adolphus William Ward](/source/Adolphus_William_Ward)
 | title=Vice-Chancellor, [Victoria University (UK)](/source/Victoria_University_(UK))
 | years=1897&ndash;1901
 | after=[Alfred Hopkinson](/source/Alfred_Hopkinson)
}}
{{succession box
|title=Vice-Chancellor, [University of Leeds](/source/University_of_Leeds)
|years = 1904&ndash;1911
|before=''New position''
|after=[Michael Ernest Sadler](/source/Michael_Ernest_Sadler)
}}
{{end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodington, Nathan}}
Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Leeds
Category:1848 births
Category:1911 deaths
Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham
Category:People from Aston
Category:Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford
Category:English classical scholars
Category:Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford
Category:Classical scholars of the University of Leeds
Category:Academics of the University of Birmingham
Category:Classical scholars of the University of Birmingham
Category:Teachers at Manchester Grammar School

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nathan Bodington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bodington) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bodington?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
