John William Martin (1864 or 1865 – 6 April 1956) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Fabian who later became an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in the United States. Born in

Lincoln, Lincolnshire Lincoln () is a cathedral city and district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the city's district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including Bracebridge He ...

, Martin became a pupil teacher when he was thirteen, and by furthering his education in this way, he eventually won a scholarship to the Borough Road Training College. During his time there, he was active in

radical politics Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radic ...

, and formed a debating society. After leaving the college, Martin attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, graduating in 1889. He worked as a teacher for several years, then became a lecturer at the East London Technical College. Martin became active in the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

and served on its executive from 1894. In 1899, he traveled to lecture in the United States, and while there met Prestonia Mann, a leading figure in the American Fabian Society. They married in 1900, and settled on

Grymes Hill Grymes Hill is a tall hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the second highest natural point on the island and in the five boroughs of New York City. The neighborhood of the same name encompasses an area of and has ...

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. In New York, Martin served on the Board of Education for eight years and was a director of the League of Political Education. In 1929, he moved to become a professor at

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

in Florida, where he remained until his death in 1956. He left his house to the college, which now served as the university's music department, under the name "Martin Hall".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, John William 1860s births 1956 deaths Alumni of the University of London Members of the Fabian Society People from Lincoln, England Rollins College faculty People from Grymes Hill, Staten Island