Eli Todd Tappan
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Eli Todd Tappan (1824–1888) was an American educator, mathematician, author, lawyer and newspaper editor who served as president of
Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...
, among other public distinctions. He was the son of
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Benjamin Tappan and the father of author
Mary Tappan Wright Mary Tappan Wright (1851–1916) was an American novelist"Wright, Mary Tappan" in ''The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge''. New York, The Encyclopedia American Corporation, v. 29, 1920, p. 570.Wallace, W. Stewart. ''A Dic ...
.


Family, life and education

Tappan was born April 30, 1824, in
Steubenville Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area has an es ...
,
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, the son of Benjamin Tappan and his second wife Betsy (Lord) Tappan. His education was received in local public schools, through private tutors, and at St. Mary's College in
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,
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. Afterwards he studied law with his father and
Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
, who was his father's partner, and in 1846 he was admitted to the bar. He married, February 4, 1851, Lydia McDowell of Steubenville. The couple had two children,
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and Charles. He died October 23, 1888.


Career

From 1846 to 1848 Tappan edited the ''Ohio Press'' in
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, Ohio, a weekly newspaper he founded. He went on to practice law in Steubenville, during which time he served as mayor (1852). He began his career in education in 1857 as a teacher in the public schools and quickly rose to distinction, serving as superintendent, March 1858-June 1859, professor of mathematics at
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
, 1859–1860 and 1865–1868, teacher of mathematics at Mount Auburn Young Ladies' Institute, 1860–1865, and president of
Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...
, 1869-1875. As president he thoroughly revised the curriculum and oversaw completion of the college chapel, the Church of the Holy Spirit. Following his term as president he was Kenyon's professor of mathematics and political economy. In addition to his administrative and professorial duties, Tappan served as a member of the Ohio State Board of School Examiners in 1864, president of the Ohio State Teachers Association in 1866, and a member of the
National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college st ...
, in which body he also served on the council in 1880, as treasurer from 1880 to 1881, and as president in 1883. He was Ohio's Commissioner of Common Schools from 1887 until his death.


Works

Tappan was the author of a number of mathematical textbooks, including ''Treatise on Plane and Solid Geometry'' (1864), ''Treatise on geometry and trigonometry'' (1868), ''Notes and Exercises on Surveying'' (1878), and ''Elements of Geometry'' (1884). Other works include "Inaugural address of Eli T. Tappan, President of the Ohio Teachers' Association," at Zanesville (1866), "School Legislation," a history of the subject in Ohio through 1873, published as part of ''A History of Education in the State of Ohio'' (1876), and "On the Complexity of Causes," an address before the Department of Higher Instruction of the National Educational Association at Chautauqua (1880).


Papers

Tappan's papers can be found in various archival collections, including the Eli T. Tappan family papers, the Benjamin Tappan papers, and the records of the Steubenville Coal and Mining Company, all held at the Ohio Historical Society, and the Charles William Eliot papers in the Clifton Waller Barrett Library, at the University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.


General references

*Minnich, Harvey C. "Eli Todd Tappan" in ''Dictionary of American Biography, v. 18. Steward-Trowbridge''. New York: Scribner, 1928+. *Tappan, Daniel Langdon. ''Tappan-Toppan Genealogy''. Arlington, Mass., 1915, pp. 25, 29-30. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tappan, Eli Todd Ohio University faculty Presidents of Kenyon College People from Steubenville, Ohio 1824 births 1888 deaths