Charles Henry Brent

Charles Henry Brent (April 9, 1862 – March 27, 1929) was the Episcopal Church's first Missionary Bishop of the Philippine Islands (1902–1918); Chaplain General of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I (1917–1918); and Bishop of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Western New York (1918–1929). The historian and Episcopal minister Frederick Ward Kates characterised him as a "gallant, daring, and consecrated soldier and servant of Christ" who was "one of modern Christendom's foremost leaders, prophets, and seers."

Brent's suggestion led to the founding of the International Opium Commission in 1909 and the subsequent First International Opium Conference in 1912, which adopted the International Opium Convention – "the world's first international drug control treaty".

Early life and education

Charles Henry Brent was born on April 9, 1862, in Newcastle, Ontario. He was the third of ten children of the Reverend Henry Brent, who was the Anglican rector in Newcastle for forty-two years, and Sophia Francis Brent. By his own account, Brent's childhood in the rural village was happy and secure.

Education

Brent was educated in Ontario. He planned his education to prepare him for the ordained ministry. First, Brent attended the town's public schools until 1880. Second, Brent's college preparation was done in 1880–1881 at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario. Third, he attended Trinity College, Toronto, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical honors in 1884. Throughout his education, Brent was both "a gifted and apt scholar" and "a formidable athlete." After graduating from Trinity College, he returned to Port Hope where from 1884 to 1886 he both taught at Trinity College School and studied privately for ordination.