Background
Poole, William Frederick was born on December 24, 1821 in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Ward and Eliza (Wilder) Poole.
Poole, William Frederick was born on December 24, 1821 in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States. Son of Ward and Eliza (Wilder) Poole.
Graduated from Yale, 1849. Honorary Doctor of Laws, Northwestern University, 1882.
Began Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1st edit., 1848, 2d edition., 1853, 3d edit., 1882. Assistant at library Boston Athenaeum, 1851, librarian, 1856-1869. Librarian Boston Merc. library association, 1852-1856, Cincinnati Library, 1871-1873.
Served as library expert in organizing new libraries including United States Naval Academy (organized 1869), 1871-1873. Librarian Chicago Public Library, 1874-1887. Organized new reference library The Newberry Library, Chicago, 1887, librarian, 1887-1894.
Attended 1st conference of America librarians in New York City, 1853. An organizer American Library Association, 1876, president, 1885-1887. Vice president International Conference of Librarians, London, England., 1877.
Member Phi Beta Kappa. President American History Association, 1888. Author: Cotton Mather and Salem Witchcraft, 1869.
The University Library and the University Curriculum, 1894. Contributor several papers to Public Libraries in the United States, Their History, Condition and Management, 1876.
Member Phi Beta Kappa.
Married Fanny Gleason, November 22, 1854, 7 children.