Education History

By Mersadezn
  • 1710 BCE

    Christopher Dock

    Christopher Dock
    1710 - Christopher Dock, a Mennonite and one of Pennsylvania's most famous educators, arrives from Germany and later opens a school in Montgomery County, PA. Dock's book, Schul-Ordnung (meaning school management), published in 1770, is the first book about teaching printed in colonial America. .
  • 1698 BCE

    The Public Library

    The Public Library
    1698 - The first publicly supported library in the U.S. is established in Charles Town, South Carolina. Two years later, the General Assembly of South Carolina passes the first public library law.
  • 1693 BCE

    The College

    The College
    1693 - The College of William and Mary is established in Virginia. It is the second college to open in colonial America and has the distinction of being Thomas Jefferson's college.
  • 1690 BCE

    John Locke

    John Locke
    1690 - John Locke publishes his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which conveys his belief that the human mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, at birth and knowledge is derived through experience, rather than innate ideas as was believed by many at that time. Locke's views concerning the mind and learning greatly influence American education.
  • 1690 BCE

    New England Primer

    New England Primer
    1690 - The first New England Primer is printed in Boston. It becomes the most widely-used schoolbook in New England.
  • 1642 BCE

    The passed Law

    The passed Law
    1642 - The Massachusetts Bay School Law is passed. It requires that parents ensure their children know the principles of religion and the capital laws of the commonwealth.
  • 1640 BCE

    President Henry Dunster

    President Henry Dunster
    1640 - Henry Dunster becomes President of Harvard College. He teaches all the courses himself
  • 1635 BCE

    The Free School

    The Free School
    1635 - The first "free school" in Virginia opens. However, education in the Southern colonies is more typically provided at home by parents or tutors.
  • 1620 BCE

    Mayflower Compact

    Mayflower Compact
    1620 - The Mayflower arrives at Cape Cod, bringing the "Pilgrims" who establish the Plymouth Colony. Many of the Pilgrims are Puritans who had fled religious persecution in England. Their religious views come to dominate education in the New England colonies.
  • 1607 BCE

    First Permanent English Settlement

    First Permanent English Settlement
    1607 – The first permanent English settlement in North America is established by the Virginia Company at Jamestown in what is now the state of Virginia.