John J. Tigert

John James Tigert (February 11, 1882 - January 21, 1965) was an American university professor, administrator and political appointee. Tigert was the U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1921 to 1928, and the third president of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, serving from 1928 to 1947. Tigert was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1882, the son of a Methodist Episcopal minister, John James Tigert, III, and his wife, Amelia M... more

John James Tigert (February 11, 1882 - January 21, 1965) was an American university professor, administrator and political appointee. Tigert was the U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1921 to 1928, and the third president of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, serving from 1928 to 1947. Tigert was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1882, the son of a Methodist Episcopal minister, John James Tigert, III, and his wife, Amelia McTyeire Tigert. Tigert received his primary education in the public schools of Kansas City, Missouri and Nashville, and earned his diploma, with honors, from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. He was admitted to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity (Tennessee Alpha Chapter) and a standout athlete in baseball, basketball, football and track. As as senior, he was honored as an All-Southern football halfback. Tigert graduated from Vanderbilt with a bachelor of arts degree in 1904; he was... less