University of Virginia Library

A. B. CHANDLER, JR.

Algernon Bertrand Chandler, Jr., the eldest son of Algernon
Bertrand Chandler, Sr., and Julia Yates (Callahan) Chandler, was
born at Bowling Green, Va., May 12, 1870.

His elementary education was received in the public schools
of Bowling Green; the Bowling Green Academy, under the direction
of Professors Coleman, Rowe and others; the private school
of Prof. J. P. Downing, Bowling Green; the Virginia Midland
Academy, Culpeper, Va., under the direction of R. R. Powell
and John Hart, Sr., and John Hart, Jr., and the Bowling Green
Academy, under the direction of Professors Hart and Bain.

Thus, with thorough preparatory training, he entered the
University of Virginia in 1889, and was soon a man of mark in
all of his classes. He retired from the University at the end of
four years, having won brilliant B. A. and M. A. degrees. During
his residence at the University he won the Orator's Medal in the
Washington Literary Society and otherwise distinguished himself
on the platform.

Following his graduation from the University of Virginia Mr.
Chandler entered upon the profession of teaching (in Locust

A. B. Chandler, Jr.

Dale Academy), but after a brief period he took a course in law
in Washington and Lee University, Under John Randolph Tucker
and Charles A. Groves, noted professors of law, and was licensed
to practice in 1895. Upon his admission to the bar he formed
a partnership with his brother, John W. Chandler, also a graduate
from the University of Virginia, and together they practiced in
Atlanta, Ga., for a few years.

While practicing law in Atlanta, Mr. Chandler, upon invitation
of the Virginia Society of Atlanta, delivered the Annual

Oration (on the Life and Character of Robert E. Lee) before that
Society, being at that time only twenty-six years of age and the
youngest man ever accorded that honor. During the same year
he delivered the commencement address before the Georgia
State Normal School at Milledgeville, an unusual honor for a
man of his years, and an eloquent testimonal to his ability on the
platform.

The call of the school soon proved stronger than the call of
the bar, and after a few years he returned to the profession of
teaching, becoming principal of the elementary schools of Richmond,
and later State School Examiner. While principal of the
elementary schools in Richmond Mr. Chandler edited the School
Page of the News Leader and also served as Professor of English
in the Virginia Mechanics Institute, a night school which has given
many a poor young man an opportunity to equip himself for
greater usefulness in the world.

When the Fredericksburg State Teachers' College was established,
Mr. Chandler retired from his position as State School
Examiner to become Professor of Latin in the new institution,
and so largely did he contribute to the growth and development
of the school that, after three years, he was made dean of the
institution. His service in this capacity further demonstrated
his ability as an educator and executive, and marked him for
further promotion. So when the office of president became
vacant in 1919, he was chosen to preside over the destinies of the
institution.

The school, under his direction as president, entered upon an
unusual period of prosperity, and the first three years of his
administration brought remarkable expansion and development.
A 50,000 gallon steel water tank was constructed; an independent
gas line was laid to the kitchens and Home Economics Department;
a moving picture machine was installed, new seats added
to the auditorium; a Faculty Home Annex was erected; many
concrete walkways and asphalt driveways were built; a cold
storage and ice manufacturing plant added; a central program
clock, auxiliary clock and gong system were installed, and the
most beautiful open air theatre in Virginia was constructed.

The educational standard of the school kept pace with the
external improvements. All high school studies were eliminated
and the school placed on a strict professional basis; a commercial
teacher training course was added—the only institution of its

Birthplace and Old Home of A. B. Chandler, Jr.

kind in Virginia offering such a course; four differentiated four-year
degree courses were added, summer school extended to
12 weeks, a full quarter, with both junior and senior courses;
four differentiated practice schools were secured; several new
professors were added to the faculty; a splendid athletic program
was inaugurated; the enrollment doubled, and a distinctive school
spirit built up.

In his work as President of the Fredericksburg institution,
and in other fields of endeavor as well, Mr. Chandler has been ably
assisted and encouraged by his wife, a woman of rare grace and
charm, fitted by birth and training to adorn any circle of society,
and who, before her marriage, was Miss Blanche Montgomery,
of Warsaw, Va.

In addition to his outstanding work as educator, Mr. Chandler
has made splendid contributions to the life of Virginia, both on
the platform and with the pen. He is the author of the Virginia
Supplement to Frye's Higher Geography, "Rappahannock River
Country," a monograph published by Fredericksburg State
Normal (1915), "An Appreciation of Matthew Fontaine Maury,"
"Christian Education the Hope of the World," "The Philosophy
of Reading," and numerous articles in various educational journals.

Possessing unusual oratorical powers Mr. Chandler is much
sought after by schools, churches, clubs and civic organizations,
and frequently addresses meetings held under the auspices of such
bodies. His lectures on "Robert E. Lee," "Woman in History,"
and "Mother and Home," have been delivered in many places
in Virginia, and in other States, and have been enthusiastically
received wherever heard. His address at the laying of the cornerstone
of the Matthew Fontaine Maury monument in Richmond,
Va., won wide and favorable notice, and was published, with other
addresses, in 1923.

Mr. Chandler is a member of Antioch Church (Disciples) of
Bowling Green, Va., of which his father was elder for over one-half
century, and is in great demand as a speaker by the churches
and general conventions of his communion. He is also a member
of the Westmoreland Club of Richmond, and the Rotary Club
of Fredericksburg. As an indication that his fame is more than
local, it may be pointed out that he is one of the two men of his
city whose names appear in Who's Who in America.