Levi Hedge (April 19, 1766 – January 3, 1844) was an American educator.

Biography

Levi Hedge was born in

Hardwick, Massachusetts Hardwick is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, about west of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 2,667 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hardwick, Gilbertville, Wheelwright and Old Furnace. Hist ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1792. His independent stand against hazing while still a student was instrumental in ridding Harvard of the injustice associated with its "hat law". He was a Teacher at Westford Academy in Westford, MA from 1792 - 1794 (3) He was appointed a tutor at Harvard in 1795. In 1801, he married Mary Kneeland, with whom he had eight children, including

Frederic Henry Hedge Frederic Henry Hedge (December 12, 1805 – August 21, 1890) was a New England Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist. He was a founder of the Transcendental Club, originally called Hedge's Club, and active in the development of Transcendent ...

, who became a clergyman, transcendentalist, scholar of German literature, and also a Harvard professor. He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

in 1805. In 1810, Hedge became professor of logic and metaphysics. He was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society i ...

in 1816.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> He published ''Elements of Logick'' (Cambridge, 1816), which went through many editions, and was translated into German. In 1827 he moved to the Alford professorship of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity. That year, also prepared an abridgment of Thomas Brown's ''Mental Philosophy'' (1827). An attack of paralysis compelled him to resign from Harvard in 1830. He died in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

in 1844.

Footnotes

References

* * Thwing, C.F., "College Hazing", ''Scribners Monthly'', Vol. 17, No.3, January 1879, pp. 331–334. * Catalogue of Westford Academy - 1890-91 page Past teachers (15) 1766 births 1844 deaths Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard University alumni Harvard University faculty Educators from Massachusetts American philosophers People from Hardwick, Massachusetts People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Members of the American Antiquarian Society {{US-philosopher-stub