Josiah Little Pickard (March 17, 1824 – March 28, 1914) was the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin, 1860–1864, and the sixth President of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, 1878–1887. Born in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley. History The area was inhabited by the Agawam people under sachem ...

, Pickard grew up on a farm near

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

and went to Lewiston Falls Academy in Maine. He graduated from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

in 1844. In 1845, he moved west and then moved to

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, in 1864, and was principal of Platteville Academy now

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville or UW Platt) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees across three colleges and ...

. From 1860 until 1864, Pickard was Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin. During that time he was on the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Board of Regents. In 1864, he resigned as Superintendent of Public Instruction and moved to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to be head of the public school system, a job he began in June of that year. He served until resigning in June 1877 (he alleged that the school board had forced him out in order to appoint his assistant superintendent

Duane Doty Duane Doty (c. 1836–November 17, 1902) was an American educator, civil engineer, and administrator that served as superintendent of the public school systems in Detroit and Chicago, and who worked for the Pullman Car Company as the town mana ...

, which Doty denied). Finally, he went to the

and served as president until his retirement in 1887. He also was President of the

State Historical Society of Iowa The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI), a division of the Iowa Department of Administrative Affairs, serves as the official historical repository for the State of Iowa and also provides grants, public education, and outreach about Iowa his ...

. After 1889, he retired and from 1900, Pickard lived in retirement with his daughter in

Cupertino, California Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose, California, San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The ...

.Josiah Little Pickard, Wisconsin Historical Society
/ref> Pickard died at his daughter's home in Cupertino after falling from a

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

and breaking his

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...

. He was buried in Chicago.

Notes

People from Cupertino, California People from Rowley, Massachusetts People from Brunswick, Maine Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Platteville, Wisconsin Bowdoin College alumni Educators from Illinois Educators from Wisconsin Superintendents of public instruction of Wisconsin Presidents of the University of Iowa 1824 births 1914 deaths 19th-century American educators 19th-century Wisconsin politicians Superintendents of Chicago Public Schools American school principals {{US-academic-administrator-1820s-stub