Charles William Bardeen (1847 – August 19, 1924) was an American educator and publisher. He devoted his career to improve the education system of the United States. He was the father of

Charles Russell Bardeen Charles Russell Bardeen (8 February 1871 – 12 June 1935) was an American physician and anatomist and the first dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Early years Bardeen was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1871, and grew up in ...

and grandfather of two-time

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winning physicist

John Bardeen John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the tran ...

. He was referred to as C.W. by the later generations of Bardeens.Hoddeson, Lillian; Vicki Daitch. ''True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen''. p. 11

Early life

C.W. was born in 1847 in

Groton, Massachusetts Groton is a town in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, within the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 11,315 at the 2020 census. It is home to two prep schools: Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 17 ...

, to an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

family. He left school at the age of fourteen to enlist in the Northern Army in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, where he signed up as a drummer boy. He was a poor drummer and because of that, he spent the Civil War as a fifer. After the end of the Civil War, he worked his way through

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, and graduated from Yale in 1869.

Career

After completing his graduation, C.W. found employment as a vice-principal and teacher, and held several positions as school principal, superintendent, and college English professor until 1873. His son Charles R. Bardeen was born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

in 1871. C.W. moved his family to

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

in 1874. He established his own publishing company, School Bulletin Publications, that year. He became managing editor of the ''School Bulletin'' in 1874 and retained that position for almost fifty years. The magazine became a forum for expressing his strong views on the importance of quality education. In the 1880s and 1890s, C.W. made a number of trips to Europe and northern Africa, and he wrote up his travel adventures for the ''Bulletin''. C.W. took positions of national leadership in the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

and the Educational Press Association of America. He was invited for membership in the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

, and the

American Social Science Association In 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts, a society for the study of social questions was organized and given the name American Social Science Association. The group grew to where its membership totaled about 1,000 persons. About 30 corresponding members ...

Later life

In later years, C.W. frequently exchanged letters with his son, Charles R. Bardeen, in which they discussed issues about education, work, and life in general. He also filtered his experience and ideas with his grandchildren. C.W. sent ''A Little Fifer’s War Diary'', an autobiographical memoir about his experiences during the American Civil War, to John Bardeen for his tenth birthday. C.W. died in Syracuse on August 19, 1924.

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bardeen, Charles William 1847 births 1924 deaths People from Groton, Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Educators from Massachusetts Yale University alumni Writers from Massachusetts