biography
| name: |
Jones, Rufus (Matthew)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1863–1948)
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| biography:
| Philosopher, historian, and social reformer, born in South China, Maine, USA. The child of devout Quaker parents, he attended Haverford College (1885 BA; 1886 MA) and chose to devote himself to understanding and promoting Quakerism. He taught at Quaker preparatory schools before returning to join the faculty of Haverford to teach philosophy (1893–1933). From 1890 he was a minister of the Society of Friends, and was much in demand as a preacher and speaker. He founded and edited the Quaker periodical American Friend (1893–1912), among several others. A prolific writer, he was best known for the four volumes he published (1905–21) on the history of Quakerism and related religions. Also a militant pacifist, he became widely admired for his work with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which he helped found in 1917, and was the first chairman (1917–28, 1935–44.) He succeeded in having overseas service with the AFSC count as an alternative to American military service, and directed the AFSC's many projects in the years between the World Wars, helping refugees, sufferers from famine, and those caught up in revolutions. The AFSC was one of the few non-Jewish organizations that intervened to help Jewish victims of the Nazis and Jones himself went to Germany (1938) to obtain some co-operation from the Gestapo. During World War 2 he directed the AFSC's many activities on behalf of refugees, and for this work the AFSC shared (with its British counterpart) the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. By the end of his career he had effectively reinvigorated the American Quaker community through his activities and intellectual efforts. |
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