[1] Henry Merritt Wriston was born in Laramie, Wyoming, the son of a Methodist minister and a schoolteacher.

[2] While an undergraduate at Wesleyan, he edited the school newspaper, was a top debater, and won the senior oratorical contest.

During World War I, Wriston was the assistant manager of the Connecticut State Council of Defense, and given his success there, he was appointed to be the executive secretary of the Wesleyan Endowment Fund in 1919.

[2] Due in large part to his role with Wesleyan's Endowment Fund, the Lawrence College (now Lawrence University) Board of Trustees selected him to be their next president, replacing Samuel G. Plantz, who had died the year prior, and interim president Wilson Samuel.

[2] Wriston was the eighth president of Lawrence University, and held the position from 1925 to 1937.