Reverend John Monteith was a Presbyterian minister and a founding father of the University of Michigan, formerly known as University of Michigania, also known as the Catholepistemiad. Monteith served as president of the university from 1817 through 1821, when the office was abolished in favor of a Board of Trustees.

While the modern University of Michigan traces its founding date to the establishment of the University of Michigania in 1817, with Monteith serving as the actual first President. The official honor is reserved for Henry Philip Tappan

Henry Philip Tappan

Henry Philip Tappan was an American philosopher, educator and academic administrator. He is officially considered the first president of the University of Michigan....

, who was president in 1852 after the Michigan state constitution was rewritten in 1850 and the office of President of the University of Michigan was officially created.

Today the Reverend John Monteith is honored through the The John Monteith Legacy Society, the University's main scholarship trust.