Edward Austin Sheldon (October 4, 1823 – August 26, 1897) was an American educator, and the founding president of the State University of New York at Oswego (then Oswego Primary Teachers' Training School). He also served as superintendent of schools for the cities of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

and

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

. Sheldon introduced the principles and teachings of

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (; ; ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking ...

into American education through the Oswego Movement. A statute of Sheldon instructing a child was dedicated at the

New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat ...

in January 1900 during a ceremony attended by Governor

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

United States Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...

William Torey Harris. It remained there until 1922 and was later installed on Oswego's campus. His daughter was educator Mary Sheldon Barnes.

References

External links

''New Studies in Education: The Oswego Movement in American Education'', by Ned H. Dearborn, 1925

''Oswego: Fountainhead of Teacher Education; A Century in the Sheldon Tradition'', Dorothy Rogers, 1961

''The Autobiography of Edward Austin Sheldon'', ed. Mary Sheldon Barnes, 1911
Hamilton College (New York) alumni Presidents of campuses of the State University of New York 1823 births 1897 deaths People from Oswego, New York People from Perry, New York New York (state) Prohibitionists University and college founders {{US-edu-bio-stub