Martyn College

The Martyn College of Elocution and Oratory (or simply Martyn College of Oratory; later Martyn College of Expression and Physical Culture) was an American educational organisation, founded by Francis G. Martyn at Washington, D.C. in 1884 (as the "Martyn Commercial College"), and incorporated in 1892 with Webster Edgerly as its president, having as its purpose the teaching of personal skills, such as elocution, oratory, acting, physical cultural, etc. In early post-incorporation advertisements for the college, the founder was listed as Martyn; however, later adverts credited Edgerly alone as founder and president.

One of the first classes of the newly incorporated college mounted public protest against Edgerly after they were denied graduation and degree, and launched an investigation into his past, outing him as being Edmund Shaftesbury and Everett Ralston, whose works formed the core of the school's program; reports on this matter resulted in Edgerly's filing a libel suit against the Washington News.