What does Columbus have to do with Davis College?

Chicago presented the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893

In honor of Columbus Day today I thought I would do a post on Columbus and Davis College. So what does Columbus have to do with Davis College? The answer is: Not very much directly. Apart from the obvious answer that his "discovery" brought many European Settlers one of which would have been the ancestor of John A. Davis. The real reason for this post is a tribute that was paid to him in 1892-1893 in Chicago. The dedication of the fair was on October 21, 1892 in honor of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the New World. The fair didn't officially open until May 1, 1893 and continued until October 30, 1893.

It was during this time that John A. Davis at the age of 22 was at the Chicago Evangelism Society or the Chicago Bible Institute, better known today as the Moody Bible Institute. During his time there his gift of evangelism was trained and used in the grounds of the fair.

So the Fair that honored Columbus and his voyage was the training grounds for John A. Davis the founder of Davis College.

To read more about this time in John A. Davis' life click here for the 3rd part of the Life of John A. Davis from the 1934 Theologue.