"the qualities of learning" | Bell was born near Dayton, Ohio, and was 23 years old at the founding of Sigma Chi. He was best remembered for his exemplification of the qualities of learning and friendship. According to Runkle, "He was good hearted, believed in securing the good things of life and immediately dividing them with his companions... Naturally, he was a leader and teacher of men."
Bell graduated in 1857 and began his life as a teacher. In 1961, at the beginning of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union army to eventually rise to Lieutenant Colonel. After the war, he returned to education and served as the superintendant of schools in Noble County, Minnesota. He also served as the county recorder of deeds, editor/publisher of a local newspaper as well as principal and president of several preperatory and collegiate institutions in the western United States.
He died in 1919, the day after attending the Sigma Chi initiation at the University of California, Berkeley. He is buried in the Presidio in San Fransisco and in 1933, was dedicated the Founders' memorial monument. |
