James V. Logan
Professor of Psychology, Ethics, and Logic (1874-1908)

James Venable Logan was born July 11, 1835, in Scott County, Kentucky. He graduated from Centre College in 1854 and the Danville Theological Seminary in 1860. Logan served as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, from 1860 to 1868. In 1868 Logan moved to Louisville, where he edited the Free Christian Commonwealth. In 1874 he was appointed to the faculty of Central University (Richmond, Ky.), where he taught ethics and logic. In 1880 Logan was elected President of the College of Letters and Sciences of Central University. He served in this position until the merger of Centre College and Central University in 1901. After the merger he remained on the faculty of Centre College as Professor of Psychology, Ethics, and Logic until his retirement following the 1908 commencement. Logan died in Cedar Lake, Minnesota, on August 8, 1908, while vacationing with his wife. Logan was married twice: in 1863 to Mattie E. McBrayer of Harrodsburg, and in 1895 to Mary Lee Herndon. His obituary notes that Logan "was a man of retiring and modest disposition and an intimate acquaintance with him only served to accentuate and develop his many rare qualities of mind and heart."