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Martin Grove Brumbaugh (April 14, 1862March 14, 1930) was an American Republican politician who served as the 26th
Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
from 1915 until 1919. He is frequently referred to as M.G. Brumbaugh, as is common in the Brumbaugh family. He was president of
Juniata College Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those ...
and the first education commissioner for
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.


Life and career

Brumbaugh was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. He grew up in rural Huntingdon County and worked in the combination country store-post office that was operated by his father. He was raised in a small pacifist faith with German roots, the
German Baptist Brethren German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, popularly called Dunkers. Brumbaugh attended Huntingdon
Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to 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 school level, turni ...
, graduating in 1881. A voracious reader and researcher, he later earned degrees in mechanical engineering, philosophy, and the general sciences before earning a
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
in 1894. He returned to Huntingdon Normal School, now renamed
Juniata College Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those ...
, in 1895, and continued at the post until 1910. He remained closely connected to the college, returning to the position of the president in 1924. A leading proponent of educational modernization, Brumbaugh oversaw reform of the teacher training curriculum for the state of Louisiana. After the American Invasion of Puerto Rico, then a wealthy overseas province of Spain, and the Treaty of Paris of 1899, Brumbaugh was charged with implementation of an American-style educational system in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. Brumbaugh dissolved the entire Education Ministry that had been in place for centuries. Then Brumbaugh had the entire public school faculty, most of whom were trained professors of either Antillean or Peninsular Spanish origins, fired and deported. He then brought from the US a great number of Anglophone school teachers, including his cousin Dr. D. Brumbaugh, considered more "friendly to the American cause". The problem was that the American school teachers spoke only English, and the island's primary language was Spanish, with great numbers of French and Italian speakers. In less than 18 months, after Brumbaugh took over, school absenteeism shot up to 98% with the ensuing performance collapse of a population that spoke one language and the teachers another. Those children who did go to school were punished for speaking Spanish, and put down for their culture. The next thing Brumbaugh did, with the backing of the US Military Government, was to change the entire curriculum, to "Americanize it". He re-wrote the entire Puerto Rican history curriculum, sanitized it and purged from it any data threatening to the "American cause". In addition, he began to edit and doctor data so as to exacerbate anything political or social by the former Spanish Authorities, making it negative, out of context and proportion, in a national humiliation process that caused tremendous public outrage and protests. To this day, the island's educational system is still suffering from Brumbaugh's "reforms". After he left Puerto Rico he held lecturer positions at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
and
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 higher le ...
. In 1906, he became superintendent of the Philadelphia Public Schools and gained statewide recognition for his performance in this role. A conservative and religious but usually apolitical man, Brumbaugh was nevertheless courted by the Republican Party to run for governor in 1914, after corruption and infighting marred the
1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York Ci ...
campaign. While in office, Brumbaugh fought to expand educational funding, spur highway construction, and support farmers but also blocked labor reform and supported alcohol prohibition. During his term in office he chided the state legislature for spending beyond its means and emphasized this point by vetoing 409 pieces of legislation.Earl C. Kaylor, Jr. 1996. Martin Grove Brumbaugh: A Pennsylvanian's Odyssey from Sainted Schooman to Bedeviled World War I Governor, 1862-1930. Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson Press, p. 311. He received the largest share of the popular vote in the 1916 Republican Party presidential primaries. Brumbaugh died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on March 14, 1930 while playing golf on vacation in
Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 13,124. It is home of the historic Pinehurst Resort, a Golf resort, which has hosted multiple United States Open Champion ...
.


Legacy

Brumbaugh Hall is one of the 14 residence halls in the East Halls area of the
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
University Park campus, all named after Pennsylvania Governors. In the college town of
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal div ...
, Calle Brumbaugh is a street named after Brumbaugh. He was president of the
Pennsylvania German Society The Pennsylvania German Society is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to studying the Pennsylvania German people and their 330-year history in the United States and Canada. The Society works to preserve and promote the history, cultu ...
in 1927. The Dr. Martin G. Brumbaugh Graded School, in
Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico Santa Isabel () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Coamo; east of Juana Díaz; and west of Salinas. Santa Isabel is spread over 7 barrios and Santa Isabel Pueblo (the downtown area an ...
, named for him, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.


Selected works

* * * * * * ( incomplete version on Wikisource) *


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brumbaugh, Martin Grove 1862 births 1930 deaths Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania Christian writers American members of the Church of the Brethren Church of the Brethren clergy Juniata College alumni Candidates in the 1916 United States presidential election 20th-century American politicians University of Pennsylvania faculty Harvard University faculty Juniata College University of Pennsylvania alumni