Daniel Z. Gibson

Daniel Gibson was born in Middlesboro, Kentucky in 1908.^[1] He attended secondary school there and earned his bachelor's degree at Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1929.^[2] In 1931, he earned his master's degree from the University of Cincinnati in English and started teaching at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.^[2] Gibson earned his doctorate in English literature from the University of Cincinnati in 1939.^[3] The following year, he became an assistant professor of English at The Citadel, which he held until 1943.^[1]

In 1943, Gibson resigned his post at The Citadel and accepted a commission in the United States Naval Reserve.^[3] For the duration of World War II, Gibson was assigned to Franklin and Marshall College as the Executive Officer of the V-12 Navy College Training Program detachment.^[2] At war's end, Gibson was discharged from the navy and accepted an posting as an associate professor of English at Franklin and Marshall in 1946.^[3] Later that year, he was promoted to Dean of the college.^[4]

Gibson became the president of Washington College, in Chestertown, Maryland, in 1950. The next year, he announced that the college would no longer be supporting a football team.^[5] Over the next 20 years, the college campus, faculty, and endowment would double in size.^[1] The school's enrollment also grew from 328 to 800.^[6] Outside of the college, Gibson was a member of the Ornithological Society chapter in Kent County, Maryland.^[7] In 1970, Gibson resigned as president due to failing health.^[1]

After his time at Washington College, Gibson was the dean of Salisbury University for 18 months.^[8] Gibson died of Parkinson's disease on April 23, 1984, in Chestertown, Maryland.^[1]

Daniel Gibson married Helen Schaefer Gibson in 1936 and had four children.^[2][7]