Editing David Brainerd (section)

==Legacy==

===Impact on the church and mission===
[[File:Tomb of David Brainerd.jpg|thumb|Brainerd's tomb in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]].]]

He made a handful of converts, but became widely known in the 1800s due to books about him.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Did You Know? | journal=Christian History & Biography | date=Spring 2006 | volume=90 | page=2 }}</ref> His ''Journal'' was published in two parts in 1746 by the Scottish Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.{{cn|date=April 2021}}

Much of Brainerd's influence on future generations can be attributed to the biography compiled by Jonathan Edwards and first published in 1749 under the title of ''[[The Life of David Brainerd|An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd]]''.<ref>Pettit, p. 28.</ref><ref name="NollJonathan">Noll, 'Jonathan Edwards'.</ref> It gained immediate recognition, with eighteenth-century theologian [[John Wesley]] urging: 'Let every preacher read carefully over the ''Life of David Brainerd''{{'}}.<ref>Quoted in Piper, p. 131.</ref> From the eighteenth century, missionaries also found inspiration and encouragement from the biography. [[Gideon Hawley]] wrote in the midst of struggles:

<blockquote>'I need, greatly need, something more than humane [human or natural] to support me. I read my Bible and Mr. Brainerd's ''Life'', the only books I brought with me, and from them have a little support'.<ref>Quoted in Piper, p. 132.</ref></blockquote>

Other missionaries who have asserted the influence of Jonathan Edwards's biography of Brainerd on their lives include [[Henry Martyn]], [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]], [[Jim Elliot]],<ref>Piper, pp. 131–132.</ref> and [[Adoniram Judson]].<ref name="NollJonathan" />

===Impact on higher education===
Brainerd's life also played a role in the establishment of [[Princeton College]] and [[Dartmouth College]]. The 'College of New Jersey' (later Princeton) was founded due to the dissatisfaction of the New York and New Jersey Presbyterian Synods with Yale; their expulsion of Brainerd and subsequent refusal to readmit him was an important factor in driving individuals such as [[Jonathan Dickinson (New Jersey minister)|Jonathan Dickinson]] and [[Aaron Burr Sr.|Aaron Burr]] to act on this dissatisfaction. Indeed, classes began in Dickinson's house in May 1747, while Brainerd was recovering there. [[Dartmouth College]] originated from a school founded by [[Eleazar Wheelock]] for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] and colonists in 1748, and Wheelock had been inspired by Brainerd's example of Native American education.<ref>Piper, pp. 156–157.</ref>

Students at [[Lafayette College]] founded the Brainerd Evangelical Society based on Brainerd's teachings in order to "promote Christian Missions and the Evangelization of the World".<ref name="skillman">{{cite book|last1=Skillman|first1=David Bishop|title=The Biography of a College: Being the History of the First Century of the Life of Lafayette College|date=1932|publisher=Lafayette College|location=Easton, Pennsylvania}}</ref> In 1902, they constructed a building known as Brainerd Hall (now [[Hogg Hall]]) to house their religious meetings, and serve as a recreational facility on campus.<ref name="gendebien">{{cite book |last1=Gendebien |first1=Albert W. |title=The Biography of a College: A History of Lafayette College 1927 – 1978 |date=1986 |publisher=Lafayette College |location=Easton, PA}}</ref>