The life and character of an outstanding man express the spirit of the community in which he has moved. Paul Revere Frothingham was the descendent from generations of Harvard men who moulded her fortunes in the days when she was a New England and Boston institution, that is, the days of Emerson. Lowell, and their contemporaries. He was the most brilliant successor of William Ellery Channing, the greatest minister of his time, whose religious doctrines exercised untold influence at Cambridge during the same period. His heritage was the heritage of liberalism.

During his lifetime Harvard has become a national institution. It is still in the front rank of liberal thought, liberal education, and liberal religion. The seeds planted in Cambridge and Boston have borne fruit throughout the land. Dr. Frothingham was one of the great builders of the new era. He has formulated and preached the modern theory of religion not only in his own church, but also in Appleton Chapel. Twice he has served with outstanding success on the Board of Overseers during critical periods in the development of the University. Forward looking courageous, and independent builder on the past, closely associated all his life with expansion and development at Cambridge his life also, expressed the arrest that is Harvard's.