In 1871 David B. Johnson, who would found Winthrop College (as the Winthrop Training School) in 1886, entered UT’s Preparatory Department. He was the first president of UT’s YMCA and received the AB degree from UT in 1877 as class valedictorian. He had lost his left arm at age eight, while playing hooky and catching a ride on a freight train manned by federal troops. He fell from a flat car and his arm was crushed, requiring amputation.
He taught mathematics at UT in 1879-80 and received a master’s degree in 1880, just 10 days before he was voted out of his teaching position by the board of trustees because of reorganization. While serving as school superintendent in Columbia, South Carolina, the shortage of teachers prompted him to start a college to train women for teaching posts. He sought help from the Peabody Education Board, which gave him a check for $2,000. The college was named for Peabody Board Chairman Robert Winthrop.
He died in 1928 and was buried on the Winthrop College campus. After the Little Chapel was moved to Rock Hill from Columbia in 1936, his remains were moved to the site of Winthrop’s first classes.