George Barrell Emerson (September 12, 1797 – March 14, 1881) was an American educator and pioneer of women's education.
Biography
He was born in
Kennebunk, Maine
Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 11,536 at the 2020 census (The population does not include Kennebunkport, a separate town). Kennebunk is home to several beaches, the Rachel Carson National Wildlife R ...
. He graduated from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
in 1817, and soon after took charge of an academy in
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.
History
In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
. Between 1819 and 1821, he was the tutor in mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard, and in 1821 was chosen principal of
The English High School
The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...
for Boys in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In 1823 he opened the Emerson School for Girls in the same city, which he conducted until 1855, when he retired from professional life. He was for many years president of the
Boston Society of Natural History
The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...
, and was appointed by
Governor Everett chairman of the commissioners for the zoological and botanical survey of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
.
He died in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...
.
Family
He was a cousin of
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
.
Legacy
*
Emerson Preparatory School
Emerson Preparatory School (also known as Emerson) was a small private high school in Northwest Washington, D.C., founded in 1852 as the Emerson Institute. It was Washington's oldest co-ed college preparatory school. The school closed at the end ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
was named in his honor.
Further reading
Works by Emerson
* An address, delivered at the opening of the Boston Mechanics' Institution, February 7, 1827.
* ''The school and the schoolmaster''. Part I by
Alonzo Potter
Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society."
...
; Part II. by George Emerson. Boston: W.B. Fowle & N. Capen, 1843.
* ''Report on the Trees and Shrubs growing naturally in the Forests of Massachusetts'' (Boston, 1846)
* ''Manual of Agriculture'' (with C. Flint; 1861)
* “Education in Massachusetts: early legislation and history,” a lecture of a course by members of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, delivered before the
Lowell Institute
The Lowell Institute is a United States educational foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts, providing both free public lectures, and also advanced lectures. It was endowed by a bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell Jr., who died in 1836. ...
, February 16, 1869.
* “What we owe to
Louis Agassiz, as a teacher.” An address by George B. Emerson, before the
Boston Society of Natural History
The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...
, January 7, 1874.
* ''Reminiscences of an Old Teacher'' (1878)
Works about Emerson
Biography at Harvard.edu- Biography and story of the founding of the Arnold Arboretum
Notes
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, George Barrell
1797 births
1881 deaths
American educators
Harvard University faculty
People from Boston
19th century in Boston
Harvard College alumni
People from Kennebunk, Maine