In memoriam William Harvey Wells

About this book

William Harvey Wells, educator, born in Tolland, Connecticut, 27 February, 1812; died in Chicago, Illinois, 21 January, 1885. He lived on the home farm till 1829, and, after attending school for a short time, became a teacher. He taught in the Teachers' seminary at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1836-'47, and was principal of Putnam free school, Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1848-'54, and of the State normal school at Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1854-'6. He then removed to Chicago, where he was superintendent of public schools from 1856 till 1864. Mr. Wells was an organizer of the Massachusetts state teachers' association, one of the first editors of the "Massachusetts Teacher," and at different times a member or officer of numerous educational and learned societies. He was vice-president of the Chicago astronomical society, a director of the public library of that city, and an organizer and life-long friend of the Washingtonian home of Chicago. Dartmouth gave him the honorary degree of M. A. in 1845. He was the author of several schoolbooks and "Historical Authorship of English Grammar" (Chicago, 1878), contributed to educational journals, and assisted in the revision of "Webster's Unabridged Dictionary."