O'TOOLE, GEORGE BARRY

Educator, author, cofounder of the Catholic University of Beijing, China; b. Toledo, Ohio, Dec. 11, 1886;d. Washington, D.C., March 26, 1944. He studied at St. John's University, Toledo, and received doctorates in philosophy and theology from the Urban University, Rome. After ordination in Rome (Nov. 1, 1911), he served as secretary to Joseph Schrembs, Bishop of Toledo (1912–15); diocesan canonist (1913–15); pastor of St. Aloysius, Bowling Green, Ohio (1915–17); professor of philosophy, St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa. (1917–18); U.S. Army chaplain (1918–19); professor of philosophy (1919–20) and dogmatic theology (1923–24) again at St. Vincent's; professor of animal biology, Seton Hill College, Greensburg, Pa. (1919–20, 1923–24); rector of the Catholic University of Peking (1925–33); professor and head of department of philosophy, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa. (1934–37), professor of philosophy, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (1937–44); and editor in chief of the China Monthly (1939–44). With Archabbot Aurelius Stehle, OSB, he established the Catholic (Fu Jen ) University of Beijing (relocated at Taipei, Formosa, 1962); at the time of his departure from China in 1933, it included schools of arts, sciences, and education, with approximately 100 faculty members and 1,100 students. O'Toole was made a domestic prelate in 1934. A detailed list of his writings is included in D. D. Runes, ed., Who's Who in Philosophy (New York 1942) 348.

Bibliography: Archives, The Catholic University of America, unpub. biog. of Rt. Rev. Msgr. George Barry O'Toole. m. hoehn, ed., Catholic Authors: Contemporary biographical sketches, 1930–47 (Newark 1948) 603–605.

[j. f. wippel]