William Hayes Ward was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 clergyman, editor, and Orientalist

Oriental studies

Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...

, born at Abington, Mass.

Abington, Massachusetts

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,605 people, 5,263 households, and 3,747 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,469.1 people per square mile . There were 5,348 housing units at an average density of 538.0 per square mile...

He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1852, Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

 in 1856, and the Andover Theological Seminary in 1859. He served as pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 of a church at Oskaloosa, Kans.

Oskaloosa, Kansas

Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,113. Oskaloosa is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 in 1859-60, and as professor of Latin at Ripon College

Ripon College (Wisconsin)

Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance...

 in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 (1865-68). He joined the editorial staff of the New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 Independent in 1868 and remained with the Independent thereafter, rising by degrees to editor in chief (1896-1913), and then honorary editor. He directed the Wolfe Expedition to Babylonia (1884-85) and was twice president of the American Oriental Society

American Oriental Society

The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....

 (1890-94 and 1909-10). He was the father of Herbert D. Ward

Herbert Dickinson Ward

Herbert Dickinson Ward was an American author, born at Waltham, Massachusetts, son of William Hayes Ward. He graduated from Amherst College in 1884, and wrote extensively for newspapers and periodicals...

. His works include:

• The World's Christian Hymns (1883), with his sister Susan Hayes Ward
• Report of the Wolfe Expedition to Babylonia (1885)
• Biography of Sidney Lanier (1885)
• Cylinders and Other Ancient Oriental Seals in the Library of J. Pierpont Morgan (1909)
• The Seal Cylinders of Western Asia (1910)
• What I Believe and Why (1915)