10 Facts About Richard Cordley

Richard Cordley was a Protestant minister and abolitionist associated with the Jayhawkers of Kansas.

Richard Cordley wrote about the history of Lawrence and the state of Kansas later in his lifetime and was the recipient of the first degree awarded by the University of Kansas.

Richard Cordley was born on September 6,1829, in Nottingham, England.

Richard Cordley later immigrated to Livingston County, Michigan, with his family when he was four.

Richard Cordley began attending public school when he was about nine, although he had been taught how to read by his "cultivated" mother prior to his attending a formal school.

Richard Cordley was instrumental in the founding of both the University of Kansas and Washburn University in nearby Topeka.

Richard Cordley was elected the president of the latter in 1871, but turned down the offer so that he might stay in Lawrence.

Richard Cordley served as a state board regent, and was an active member of the Lawrence School Board.

Richard Cordley, according to Nathan Wilson, was a "staunch advocate of New England moral reforms," and when he arrived in Lawrence, he began to impact the moral development of the town.

Richard Cordley's claims are higher than that of family, for He made family possible.