John Frederick Nau Papers

John Frederick Nau was born on November 11, 1914 in New Orleans. Louisiana. He was the minister of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, in Pascagoula, Mississippi from 1937 to 1940. During that time, Nau married Johanna Hasenkampf in February 1939 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He continued ministering at the Missouri Synod in New Orleans until 1948. After, he became the minister of the Missouri Synod in Columbia, South Carolina until 1952. In that same year, Nau began teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi in, what he soon helped to form, the Philosophy and Religion Department. He taught for twenty-six years while also becoming the Chaplain for the University of Southern Mississippi in 1952. In the 1960s, he became the president of the Mississippi Association for Retarded Children. After, Nau then became the first chairman of the Philosophy and Religion Department at the University of Southern Mississippi and remained there until 1977. He is known for his books, The German People of New Orleans, 1850-1900 and Nau! Mission Inspired. John Frederick Nau passed away on May 5, 2010 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 2015, his children made a donation to the John F. Nau Endowment in Philosophy and Religion in his memory.