Francis Lister Hawks Pott was an American Episcopal missionary and educator who dedicated over half a century to the development of higher education in China. Born in 1864, Pott completed his early education at the Trinity School before attending Columbia College of Columbia University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1883. He subsequently pursued theological studies, graduating with a degree in divinity from the General Theological Seminary in 1886. Following his studies, Pott traveled to China, where he became a central figure at St. John's College (later renamed St. John's University) in Shanghai. Appointed as the institution's president in 1888, he guided the school for over five decades, transforming it into one of China's oldest and most prestigious universities. His tenure lasted until 1941, when the outbreak of the Pacific War and the Japanese occupation of the Shanghai International Settlement forced him to return to the United States. He returned to Shanghai after the conclusion of World War II. In his personal life, Pott was married to Soo Ngoo Wong until her death in 1918, with whom he had four children. In 1919, he married Emily Georgiana Browne, the widow of a colleague from St. John's. Pott's legacy remains closely tied to the modernization of Chinese higher education and the history of Western missionary efforts in early twentieth-century Shanghai. He passed away in 1947.
