Carroll Davidson Wright (July 25, 1840 – February 20, 1909) was an American statistician. Wright is best known for his title as the first U.S. Commissioner of Labor, serving in that capacity from 1885 to 1905.

Biography

Wright was born at

Dunbarton, New Hampshire Dunbarton is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,005 at the 2020 census, up from 2,758 at the 2010 census. History Originally granted as "Gorham's-town" in 1735, and re-granted as "Starkstown" in 17 ...

. He attended schools in

Washington, New Hampshire Washington is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2020 census. Situated in a hilly, rocky, forested area, and with 26 lakes and ponds, Washington is a picturesque resort area. It is home to Pill ...

, from elementary through the Tubbs Union Academy. He began to study law in 1860, first in

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

and then in nearby

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, but in 1862 enlisted as a private in the 14th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment to fight the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He became colonel in 1864, and served as assistant-adjutant general of a brigade in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

campaign under General Philip Sheridan. After the war, he was admitted to the New Hampshire bar, and in 1867 became a member of the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and United States' bars. From 1872 to 1873 he served in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

, where he secured the passage of a bill to provide for the establishment of trains for workers to

from the suburban districts. From 1873 to 1878 he was chief of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor. In 1880, he was appointed supervisor of the U. S. Census in Massachusetts, being also special agent of the census on the factory system. In 1885 he was commissioned by the governor to investigate the public records of the towns, parishes, counties, and courts of the state. He was the first U.S. Commissioner of Labor from 1885 to 1905, and in 1893 was placed in charge of the Eleventh Census. Wright was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1893. In 1894 he was chairman of the commission which investigated the

Pullman Strike The Pullman Strike was two interrelated strikes in 1894 that shaped national labor policy in the United States during a period of deep economic depression. First came a strike by the American Railway Union (ARU) against the Pullman factory in Ch ...

of Chicago, and in 1902 was a member of the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission. He was honorary professor of social economics in the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

from 1895 to 1904; in 1900, he became professor of statistics and social economics in Columbian University (now

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

). From 1900 to 1901, he was university lecturer on wage statistics at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and in 1903 he was a member of the Douglas Commission to investigate and recommend a program of

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

for Massachusetts. In 1902, he was chosen president of Clark College (the undergraduate school at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, where he was also professor of statistics and social economics from 1904 until his death. Dr. Wright was

President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society. It serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and engineering, representing 10 million individuals wo ...

in 1903, and in 1907 received the Cross of the Legion of Honor for his work in improving industrial conditions, a similar honor (Order of Saints Maurizio e Lazzaro) having been conferred upon him in 1906 by the Italian government. He was a member of the Institute of France and an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Science of Russia. In 1907, he was elected the second president of the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education. He received honorary degrees from

Tufts Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

(1883),

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

(1894), Dartmouth (1897),

(1902), Tufts (1902), and Amherst (1905). He died on February 20, 1909.

Works

* ''Annual Reports of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor'' (15 vols., Boston, 1873–1888) * ''The Census of Massachusetts.'' In three volumes. Boston: Albert J. Wright, State Printer, 1877. Vol. 2: Manufactures and OccupationsVol. 3: Agricultural Products and Property
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''Statistics of Drunkenness and Liquor Selling Under Prohibitory and License Legislation.''
Boston: Rand, Aberg & Co., 1879. * ''The Statistics of Boston'' (1882) * ''The Relation of Political Economy to the Labor Question'' (1882) * ''The Factory System as an Element in Civilization'' (1882)
''Report on the Factory System of the United States.''
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1884. * ''Scientific Basis of Tariff Legislation'' (1884) * ''History of Wages and Prices in Massachusetts'', 1752–1883 (1885)
''Industrial Depressions: The First Annual Report of the United States Commissioner of Labor.''
Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1886. * ''Convict Labor'' (1886) * ''Strikes and Lockouts'' (1887) * ''The Industrial Evolution of the United States'' (1887) * ''The Present Actual Condition of the Workingman'' (1887) * ''Hand Labor in Prisons'' (1887) * ''Historical Sketch of the Knights of Labor'' (1887) * ''The Study of Statistics in Colleges'' (1887) * ''The Census of Massachusetts'' (4 vols., Boston, 1887/8) * ''Problems of the Census'' (1887) * ''The Growth and Purposes of Bureaus of Statistics of Labor'' (1888) * ''Outline of Practical Sociology'' (1899) * ''Some Ethical Phases of the Labor Question.'' Boston: American Unitarian Association, 1902.
''The Battles of Labor: Being the William Levi Bull Lectures for 1906.''
Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co., 1906. * ''The Apprenticeship System in its Relation to Industrial Education'' (1908)

References

* ''History of Washington, NH, 1768–1886'' * * * *

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

, New Series No. 86, June 1909, (Memorial by S.N.D. North) * Fourth Annual Report of the Statistics of Labor, Commonwealth of Mass.(1909) (Memorial by H.G. Wadlin) Attribution: *

External links

*
Carroll Wright page
including links to fully digitized copies of many of his books. From the ''Immigration to the United States, 1789–1930'' collection, Harvard University Library Open Collections Program

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Carroll D. American statisticians 1840 births 1909 deaths George Washington University faculty Harvard University staff Presidents of Clark University People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War Presidents of the American Statistical Association United States Census Bureau people Members of the American Antiquarian Society People from Dunbarton, New Hampshire Arthur administration personnel Cleveland administration personnel Benjamin Harrison administration personnel McKinley administration personnel Theodore Roosevelt administration personnel Massachusetts state senators

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading

References

External links