John Edwin Bradley

Background

John Edwin Bradley was born on August 8, 1839 in Lee, Massachussets, the son of Stephen and Hannah (Austin) Bradley.

Education

John Bradley graduated from Williams College in 1865.

Career

After three years as principal of the high school at Pittsfield, Massachussets, Bradley was called in 1868 to be the first principal of the Albany Free Academy, New York. Here he performed what was probably his most distinctive and constructive work in the educational field.

In 1876 he accepted the position of superintendent of schools in Minneapolis. In this growing city of the Northwest, also, there was much pioneer work to be done. He introduced manual training into the high schools, and promoted a movement for the better training of the younger teachers of the city school system.

During his six years of service in Minneapolis, the number of public schools increased from 28 to 49; the number of teachers from 296 to 572 and the pupils from 14, 194 to 23, 797, the school enrolment during these years growing about twice as rapidly as the population.

Having established a solid reputation as an administrator in the public school systems of both the East and the Middle West, Bradley became in 1892 the president of Illinois College, an old institution of fine traditions at Jacksonville, Illinois. It was for him a new field, involving many serious difficulties.

The new president went about his task with keen intelligence and firm resolution but funds could not be found to ward off annual deficits. He became discouraged over the outlook and in 1900 resigned. Subsequently he served for six years as superintendent of schools at Randolph, Massachussets, where he died at the age of seventy-three.

Achievements

• John Bradley was among those pioneeers, who labored in the difficult period that marked the transition from the private academy to the free public high school. To him fell not only the lot of organizing the first public high school of the city of Albany but also the still more difficult task of winning public support for the enterprise. He remained in charge of the school for eighteen years and made it one of the leading high schools in the state. Bradley's major achievement was that he became in 1892 the president of Illinois College, an old institution of fine traditions at Jacksonville, Illinois. He had succeeded a very popular former president; the curriculum of the old college had to be modernized to meet the demands of a new age and the increasing competition of near-by universities. Bradley was also a man of dignified bearing whose kindly disposition won the affectionate regard of students in both high school and college. His degrees included the A. M. and LL. D. conferred by Williams and the Ph. D. awarded by the Regents of the University of New York. He represented the State of New York at the Paris Exposition of 1878; was for several years a member of the National Council of Education; and was several times elected to the National Council of Congregational Churches. He published many articles on educational topics and a small volume of addresses, Work and Play (1900).

Works

More photos

• book

  • Report to the Legislature of the state of New York on the educational exhibits at the Paris exposition of 1878

    (This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)

  • Work and play ; talks with students

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Work and Play: Talks With Students 1900

    (Originally published in 1900. This volume from the Cornel...)

  • Work and Play: Talks With Students.

Connections

His wife, Martha J. Gould, whom he married in 1870, helped to make their home an attractive social center for students.

Father:

Stephen Bradley

Mother:

Hannah (Austin) Bradley

Wife:

Martha J. Gould