James A. Ryder

The Very Reverend James A. Ryder SJ
2nd President of Saint Joseph's College
In office 1856–1857
Preceded by	Felix-Joseph Barbelin
Succeeded by	James A. Ward
20th & 23rd President of Georgetown College
In office 1848–1851
Preceded by	Thomas F. Mulledy
Succeeded by	Charles H. Stonestreet
In office 1840–1845
Preceded by	Joseph A. Lopez
Succeeded by	Samuel Mulledy
2nd President of the College of the Holy Cross
In office 1845–1848
Preceded by	Thomas F. Mulledy
Succeeded by	John Early
Personal details
Born	(1800-10-08)October 8, 1800 Dublin, Ireland
Died	January 12, 1860(1860-01-12) (aged 59) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Jesuit Community Cemetery
Alma mater	Georgetown College
Orders
Ordination	1824

James A. Ryder SJ (October 8, 1800 – January 12, 1860) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of several Jesuit universities in the United States. Born in Ireland, he immigrated with his widowed mother to the United States as a child, to settle in Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. He enrolled at Georgetown College and then entered the Society of Jesus. Studying in Maryland and Rome, Ryder proved to be a talented student of theology and was made a professor. He returned to Georgetown College in 1829, where he was appointed to senior positions and founded the Philodemic Society, becoming its first president.

In 1840, Ryder became the president of Georgetown College, and oversaw the construction of the university's Astronomical Observatory, as well as Georgetown's legal incorporation by the United States Congress. He earned a reputation as a skilled orator and preacher. His term ended in 1843 with his appointment as provincial superior of the Jesuit Maryland Province. As provincial, he laid the groundwork for the transfer of ownership of the newly established College of the Holy Cross from the Diocese of Boston to the Society of Jesus. Two years later, Ryder became the second president of the College of the Holy Cross, and oversaw the construction of a new wing. He returned to Georgetown in 1848 for a second term as president, and accepted a group of local physicians to form the Georgetown School of Medicine, constructed a new home for Holy Trinity Church, and quelled a student rebellion.

In his later years, Ryder went to Philadelphia, where he assisted with the founding of Saint Joseph's College and became its second president in 1856. He became the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Philadelphia, and then transferred to St. John the Evangelist Church in Frederick, Maryland, as pastor. Finally, he returned to Philadelphia, where he died in 1860.