Reverend David Litchard Kiehle was born on February 7, 1837, in Dansville, New York. Kiehle spent much his early life and education in New York. Here he graduated from the Albany State Normal School in 1856, He later graduated from Hamilton University in 1864 and the Union Theological Seminary in 1865. At the end of his studies, Kiehle relocated to Minnesota where he served as a pastor in Preston. He married Mary Gilman on July 16, 1863, raised they four children together: Ada, Louise, Frederick, and Florence.
Following Kiehle’s relocation to Minnesota, he began an active role in reforming the state’s educational system. Between 1869 and 1902, Kiehle served in a variety of roles as an educator, including the county superintendent of schools in Fillmore County, St. Cloud State’s second president (1875-1881), Minnesota state superintendent of public instruction, and as the Professor of Pedagogy at the University of Minnesota, among other positions. In each of these positions, he introduced reforms to existing educational systems, including developing summer training schools for elementary teachers, spearheading the establishment of the University of Minnesota’s School of Agriculture at Crookston, and providing the first graduate-level education for teachers in Minnesota. Likewise, Kiehle also wrote extensively and published several pieces of scholarly literature concerning public education, perhaps most notably including his book History of Education in Minnesota (1903).
Kiehle passed away in Portland, Oregon on April 5, 1918, at the age of 81 and buried in River View Cemetery there.
In honor of his work in Minnesota, St. Cloud State named its (now former) library after Kiehle in 1952. On today’s University of Minnesota – Crookston campus, the Kiehle Building serves as home to many campus units.