Bu Fangji (1864-1947),
whose original name was F.L.Hawks Pott, was an American missionary to China.
He was born in New York in 1864 and graduated from Columbia University. When
he studied theology in a seminary, he developed interest in missionary work in
China. In 1886 he came to Shanghai and began to missionize in China. When he was
24 years old, he became principal of St. John's College, which was renamed St.
John University in 1905. The university also fostered a group of famous talented
people for China at modern times. Therefore, Bu Fangji played a very important
role in China's modern history and the history of Sino-US relations.
In 1939 he resigned and went back to the United States. In 1946 he again went
to China to be principal of St. John University. A year later, he died in
Shanghai.