Henry van Dyke

• Honorific Prefix — The Reverend • Name — Henry van Dyke Jr. • Ambassador From — United States • Country — Luxembourg • Term Start — November 20, 1913 • Term End — January 15, 1917 • Predecessor — Lloyd Bryce • Successor — John W. Garrett • President — Woodrow Wilson • Ambassador From2 — United States • Country2 — the Netherlands • Term Start2 — October 15, 1913 • Term End2 — January 11, 1917 • Predecessor2 — Lloyd Bryce • Successor2 — John W. Garrett • President2 — Woodrow Wilson • Birth Name — Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. • Born — November 10, 1852 • Birthplace — Germantown, Pennsylvania, U.S. • Place of death — Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. • Resting Place — Princeton Cemetery • Education — Poly Prep Country Day School • Alma Mater — Princeton University Princeton Theological Seminary • Spouse — Ellen Reid • Parents — Henry van Dyke Sr. • Occupation — * Author • educator • minister • diplomat

Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry Jackson van Dyke Sr. (1822–1891), a prominent Brooklyn Presbyterian clergyman known in the antebellum years for his anti-abolitionist views. The family traced its roots to Jan Thomasse van Dijk, who emigrated from Holland to North America in 1652. The younger Henry van Dyke graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School in 1869, Princeton University, in 1873 and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 1877.

He served as a professor of English literature at Princeton between 1899 and 1923. Among the many students whom he influenced was, notably, future celebrity travel writer Richard Halliburton (1900–1939), Editor-in-Chief, at the time, of the Princeton Pictorial. Van Dyke chaired the committee that wrote the first Presbyterian printed liturgy, The Book of Common Worship of 1906. In 1908–09 Dr. van Dyke was a lecturer at the University of Paris. • Illustration — Henry van Dyke offering prayer at the 1913 Easter Sunrise Services in Riverside, California, atop Mount Rubidoux By appointment of President Woodrow Wilson, a friend and former classmate of van Dyke, he became Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1913. Shortly after his appointment, World War I threw Europe into dismay. Americans all around Europe rushed to Holland as a place of refuge. Although inexperienced as an ambassador, van Dyke conducted himself with the skill of a trained diplomat, maintaining the rights of Americans in Europe and organizing work for their relief. He later related his experiences and perceptions in the book Pro Patria (1921). Van Dyke resigned as ambassador at the beginning of December 1916 and returned to the United States. He was subsequently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received many other honors. Van Dyke was a friend of Helen Keller. Keller wrote: "Dr. van Dyke is the kind of a friend to have when one is up against a difficult problem. He will take trouble, days and nights of trouble, if it is for somebody else or for some cause he is interested in. 'I'm not an optimist,' says Dr. van Dyke, 'there's too much evil in the world and in me. Nor am I a pessimist; there is too much good in the world and in God. So I am just a meliorist, believing that He wills to make the world better, and trying to do my bit to help and wishing that it were more.'" He officiated at the funeral of Mark Twain at the Brick Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1910. Van Dyke died on April 10, 1933. He is buried in Princeton Cemetery. A biography of Van Dyke, titled Henry Van Dyke: A Biography, was written by his son Tertius van Dyke and published in 1935.

• Among The Quantock Hills, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Antwerp Road • The Art of Leaving Off, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Ashes of Vengeance (a half-told tale) • Beggars Under the Bush • Between The Lupin and The Laurel, from Days Off and Other Digressions • The Blue Flower • Books That I Loved as a Boy, from Days Off and Other Digressions • The Boy of Nazareth Dreams • A Brave Heart, from The Ruling Passion collection • The Broken Soldier and the Maid of France • A Change of Air • A City of Refuge • A Classic Instance • The Countersign of The Cradle • Days Off, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Diana and the Lions (a half-told tale) • A Dream-story: The Christmas Angel • The Effectual Fervent Prayer • The First Black Christmas • The First Christmas-Tree • A Friend of Justice, from The Ruling Passion collection • The Gentle Life, from The Ruling Passion collection • A Handful Of Clay • The Hearing Ear • The Hero and Tin Soldiers • His Other Engagement, from Days Off and Other Digressions • A Holiday in a Vacation, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Humoreske • In the Odour of Sanctity • Justice of the Elements (a half-told tale) • The Keeper of the Light, from The Ruling Passion collection • The Key of the Tower • The King's High Way • The King's Jewel • Leviathan, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Little Red Tom, from Days Off and Other Digressions • The Lost Boy • The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago • A Lover of Music, from The Ruling Passion collection • Lucifer's Virgin Body • The Mansion, Christmas story • Messengers at the Window • The Mill • The Music-Lover • The New Era and Carry On (a half-told tale) • The Night Call • Notions About Novels, from Days Off and Other Digressions • An Old Game • The Other Wise Man • Out-Of-Doors in the Holy Land • The Primitive and His Sandals (a half-told tale) • Ships and Havens • A Remembered Dream • The Return of the Charm • The Reward of Virtue, from The Ruling Passion collection • The Ripening of the Fruit • The Sad Shepherd, Christmas story • Salvage Point • A Sanctuary of Trees • Silverhorns, from Boy Scouts' Book of Campfire Stories • Sketches of Quebec • Some Remarks On Gulls, from Days Off and Other Digressions • Songs Out of Doors (Poems) small (duodecimo?) volume published by Scribner's, 1922 • The Source • Spy Rock • Fighting For Peace • Stronghold • The Traitor in the House (a half-told tale) • The Unruly Sprite, a Partial Fairy Tale • The Wedding-Ring • What Peace Means • The White Blot, from The Ruling Passion collection • Wood-Magic • Helps to Happiness (contains selections of his work as permitted) • A Year of Nobility, from The Ruling Passion collection • The Red Flower • Doors of Daring Scribner's Sons published The Works of Henry Van Dyke, 16 volumes, in 1920; it is known as the Avalon Edition.

• The Americanism of George Washington (1906)