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College President

Jonathan would spend most of his adult life as a college president and professor. He assumed leadership of Knox College in 1845 and served as President there until he was forced out by a disagreement with founder George Washington Gale in 1858. In 1860, Blanchard took the helm of the failing Illinois Institute in Wheaton, Illinois. He renamed the school Wheaton College and made it a successful school. He would serve as President of Wheaton until 1882, when he resigned due to failing health. His son, Charles Albert, would succeed him as President of Wheaton.