? Founded in 1814 as Maine Charity School in Hampden, the seminary graduated its first class (six men) on Aug. 2, 1820, a year after moving its campus to Bangor.

? In 1837, Cyrus Hamlin became the first graduate of the seminary to become a foreign missionary. He served in Turkey.

? A sharp decline in the seminary’s student body occurred during the Civil War, when many of the seminary’s students served as soldiers or chaplains.

? The legal name was changed to Bangor Theological Seminary in 1887.

? Lenora Hawkes Jones of Windham became the first woman to attend the seminary, in 1904.

? In 1992, Bangor Theological Seminary opened its first Portland branch.

? William Imes, pastor of the First Parish Church, Brunswick, became the seminary’s ninth president in 2001, warning in his inaugural address that the seminary had “three years to figure out how to attract more people, raise more money and educate more people so we can continue serving God’s mission in the world.”

Source: Bangor Theological Seminary