Charles Sprague Smith (1853-1910) was a

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

professor, best known for being the founder and director of the People's Institute.

Early life and education

Sprague Smith was born on August 27, 1853 in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

to Caroline L. and Charles Sprague Smith. He studied at Amherst College, graduating in 1874, and for six additional years in Europe.

Career

Educator

He taught at Columbia University beginning in 1880 as a professor of

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, E ...

. He then taught

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and modern languages beginning in 1882 and until 1891, when his career as an educator ended due to poor health.

People's Institute

He founded and served as managing director of the People's Institute beginning in 1897. The work of the organization was focused in

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

, where Sprague Smith presided over the People's Forum that was influential within the state of New York and had a national reputation. The institute's work included a system of social and civic clubs, a bureau of civic and legislative information, and publicity of civic topics in the media. A program developed from the organization provided for more than 100,000 students and workers to attend music and theatre venues at a reduced rate. The institute was responsible for and administered the Board of Censorship of Motion Pictures. He was managing director until his death. The People's Institute flourished after his death. For instance, John Collier worked as secretary of the People's Institute from 1907 to 1919. He developed programs for immigrant neighborhoods, emphasizing pride in their traditions, sponsoring lectures and pageants, and political awareness.

Other

He founded the Comparative Literature Society in 1895 and the Ethical - Social League to promote church and civic interests in 1907. He was organizing and managing director of the Committee of Fifteen. He wrote ''Working with People'' and ''Barbizon Days''.

Personal life

He married Isabelle Dwight on November 11, 1884 in Clinton, New York. She was an artist, teacher, and beginning in 1900, the principal of

Veltin School for Girls Veltin School for Girls was a private school founded by Louise Veltin in 1886 in Manhattan, New York. Veltin and Isabelle Dwight Sprague Smith were the school's principals. The school was initially located at 175 West 73rd Street, but moved in 18 ...

. She was also a director of the People's Institute. They had a daughter, Hilda. They lived at 318 W. 15th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York. He was seriously ill with pneumonia and died on March 29 or 30 in 1910.

References

External links

''New York City Censorship of Plays''
by Francis Oppenheimer
Online books
by Charles Sprague Smith {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Charles Sprague 1853 births 1910 deaths Columbia University faculty Cooper Union Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state)