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Father of the Common School
Horace Mann was born in Massachusetts, educated in mediocre schoolhouse, and later a graduate of Brown University. -
School
From ten years of age to twenty, he had no more than six weeks’ schooling during any year, but he made use of the town library. At the age of 20, he enrolled at Brown University and graduated in three years as valedictorian. The theme of his oration was “The Progressive Character of the Human Race.” -
More School
He studied law for a short time in Wrentham, Massachusetts and was a tutor of Latin and Greek (1820-1822) and a librarian (1821-1823) at Brown University. He also studied at Litchfield Law School, and in 1823, was admitted to the bar in Dedham, Massachusetts. -
First Wife
Mann married Charlotte Messer, who was the daughter of the president of Brown University. She died two years later on August 1, 1832, and he didn’t fully recover from her loss and shock that accompanied her death. -
Second Wife
After his first wives death, he later married Many Tyler Peabody. The couple accompanied Samuel Gridley Howe and Julia Ward Howe on a dual honeymoon to Europe. Horace and Mary had three sons: Horace Mann Jr., George Combe Mann, and Benjamin Pickman Mann. -
Board of Education
Horace Mann was elected Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. -
Representative
After public service as secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, Mann was elected to the United States House of Representatives (8th District) from April 3, 1848 – March 3, 1853. -
Gone
Horace Mann died this year at the age of 63. Yellow Springs, Ohio