Gail Horton Calmerton (November 2, 1861 – February 5, 1950) was an educator and a charter member of the National Council of Primary Education.

Early life

Gail Horton Calmerton was born on November 2, 1861, in Wisconsin, the daughter of E. Rudolph and M. Rougene Calmerton. Calmerton was a graduate of State

Normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, and

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Career

Gail Calmerton was interested in all civic and educational matters. Calmerton was a former Supervisor of Primary Education in the Public Schools of Fort Wayne, Indiana, before moving to California. The first primary supervisor was Annie Klingensmith, hired in 1899, a graduate of State Normal School in Indiana, PA, and Oswego Normal School in New York. Calmerton replaced Klingensmith in 1905, when Klingensmith resigned to accept a similar position in Paterson, New Jersey, and Calmerton served in that position until 1923. Calmerton wrote educational articles, children's stories and verse. She was the coauthor, together with William Henry Wheeler (1854-1936), of "Wheeler Graded Readers" and author: "Practical Projects, Plays and Games" (book for teachers). For many years Calmerton was institute instructor and lecturer in theory and practice of primary work. Calmerton was a member of:

University Women's Club The University Women's Club, originally the University Club for Ladies, is a British private members club founded in 1883. As the popular gentlemen's clubs did not accept any women as members, its creation was intended to provide an equivalent c ...

, American Pen Women, National Council of Primary Education (charter member).

Personal life

Gail Calmerton was a resident of California since 1923 and lived at 2344 Fort Stockton Drive,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California. Calmerton died on February 5, 1950, and is buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries in Southern Ca ...

, Section: Col. of Patience, Iris Terr, Map #: 1, Lot: 0, Space: 21356, Property: Niche.

Legacy

Gail Calmerton was the donor of "The Gail Calmerton Teachers' and Juvenile Library" (2,000 volumes), Fort Wayne, Indiana: the library board received a check for $1,000 to be used to create a trust fund to purchase children's books. In 1952 the Regents of

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, established ''The Gail H. Calmerton Scholarships'', two scholarships of $1,200 each open to worthy and needy students in any department of the University, using the funds presented by Calmerton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calmerton, Gail Horton 1861 births 1950 deaths American women educators People from San Diego