Edward Brooks (January 10, 1831 – June 29, 1912) was an American educator and author of numerous textbooks.

Biography

Brooks was born in

Stony Point, New York Stony Point is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. The town is located north of the town of Haverstraw, New York, Haverstraw, east and ...

, in 1831. When fifteen years old he removed, with his father, to

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in th ...

, where he learned a trade, but occupied his leisure moments in study. At this time, he formed the habit of noting down and classifying important facts or thoughts, in which way he not only mastered the common-school branches, but many of the higher ones, becoming also expert in composition. His career as a teacher began with a singing-school held in a barn. He afterward taught a

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...

for six months, studied for one session in the normal institute at

Liberty, New York Liberty is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Sullivan County, New York, Sullivan County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 Census Report QuickFacts, ...

, and then entered the University of Northern Pennsylvania, but was not graduated. He was teacher there in 1852–1853, taught mathematics in the

Monticello, New York Monticello ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village located in Thompson, New York, Thompson, Sullivan County, within the Catskills region of New York, United States. It is the seat for the town of Thompson, and the county ...

, academy, in 1854, and in 1855 accepted the professorship of mathematics in the State normal school at Millersville, Pennsylvania, of which he was principal from 1866 to 1886. Brooks was the author of a series of mathematical text-books (Philadelphia, 1858–77): ''Philosophy of Arithmetic'' (1876), ''Normal Methods of Teaching'' (Lancaster, Pa., 1879), ''Elocution and Reading'' (Philadelphia, 1882); and ''Mental Science and Culture'' (1883). He died at his home in Philadelphia in 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Edward 1831 births 1912 deaths People from Stony Point, New York American male writers Millersville University of Pennsylvania 19th-century American educators 19th-century American writers 19th-century American mathematicians Mathematicians from New York (state)