Landon Garland

Landon Cabell Garland (1810–1895), an American, was professor of physics and history and university president three times at different Southern Universities (Randolph Macon, Alabama, Vanderbilt) while living in the Southern United States for his entire life. He served as the second president of Randolph–Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, from 1836 to 1846; then professor from 1847 to 1855, and then third president of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, from 1855 to 1867; and first chancellor of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1875 to 1893. He was an apologist for slavery in the United States before the Civil War, but afterward became a vociferous spokesperson against slavery. Early life Landon Garland was born March 21, 1810, in Nelson County, Virginia. He graduated with first honors from Hampden–Sydney College in 1829. His older brother, Hugh A. Garland, who was one of the lawyers involved in the Dred Scott case and author of a biography of John Randolph of Roanoke, was also a Hampden-Sydney graduate. Their parents were Alexander Spotswood Garland and Lucinda Rose. Confederate Army General Samuel Garland, Jr. was the son of his only sister, Caroline Garland (1807-1901), and United States Founding Father and fourth President of the United States James Madison was his great uncle. Career Garland taught chemistry and natural philosophy at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, from 1829 to 1830. Garland taught chemistry and natural history at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, from 1833 to 1834, eventually being elected chair of the department. From 1836 to 1846, he served as the second president of Randolph-Macon College.