Carl Frederick Kaestle (born March 27, 1940) is a Professor of Education, History, and Public Policy emeritus at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. His historical research has focused on the development of American schools, particularly in the 1800s. He has worked at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and is a former president of the National Academy of Education.

Early life

Carl Frederick Kaestle was born on March 27, 1940, in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. He graduated with a B.A. from Yale in 1962, and with a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard in 1971.

Career

In 1970, Kaestle came to the

and later became the William F. Vilas Research Professor in educational policy studies and history. He was the chair of Madison's educational policy studies department between 1978 and 1981. Towards the late 1980s, he had international renown as a historian of American education and literacy. His research has focused on the development of American schools, particularly in the 1800s. Kaestle co-founded the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America at the UW–Madison in 1992. He was the original chair of its advisory board, which gathered academics and librarians interested in print culture from across UW–Madison's campus. In his 1983 ''

Pillars of the Republic ''Pillars of the Republic'' is history book on the origins of the American common schools written by Carl Kaestle and published by Hill & Wang in 1983. Rebecca Brooks Gruver of Hunter College described the book as "a comprehensive and ..con ...

,'' Kaestle argued "... the eventual acceptance of state common-school systems was encouraged by Americans' commitment to republican government, by the dominance of native

Protestant culture Protestant culture refers to the cultural practices that have developed within Protestantism. Although the founding Protestant Reformation was a religious movement, it also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, ed ...

, and by the development of capitalism". In 1995, Kaestle left the University of Wisconsin–Madison for the

, and later became the University Professor and Professor of Education, History, and Public Policy emeritus at

. He wrote a book on the history of federal involvement in elementary and secondary education from 1940 to 1980.

Personal life

In 1997, Kaestle married Elizabeth Hollander (née Lynes) (1939–2015), the former commissioner of planning for the city of Chicago from 1983 until 1989, the first woman to serve in that post. Hollander was the daughter of Russell Lynes (1910–1991), the

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

, author and managing editor of

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

and the niece of photographer

George Platt Lynes George Platt Lynes (April 15, 1907 – December 6, 1955) was an American fashion and commercial photographer who worked in the 1930s and 1940s. He produced photographs featuring many gay artists and writers from the 1940s that were acquired by t ...

(1907-1955). Kaestle served as the former president of the National Academy of Education. Writing for ''

The Journal of Interdisciplinary History The ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the MIT Press. It covers a broad range of historical themes and periods, linking history to other academic fields. Contents The journal featur ...

'', Harvey J. Graff declared Kaestle "one of the leading practitioners of American educational history". David Tyack referred to Kaestle's ''Pillars of the Republic'' as "the best interpretation of antebellum school development written thus far."

References

;Notes Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaestle, Carl Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Brown University faculty American historians of education Scholars of American education Living people 1940 births Yale University alumni