Josiah Little Pickard (March 17, 1824 – March 28, 1914) was the

Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the Wisconsin state government, and acts as the executive head of the Department of ...

, 1860–1864, and the sixth President of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a 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 into 12 coll ...

, 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 Ma ...

, Pickard grew up on a farm near

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is ...

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

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...

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

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, 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. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges t ...

. From 1860 until 1864, Pickard was

. During that time he was on the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

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

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

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 (1834–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 manager of ...

, 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 Cultural Affairs, serves as the official historical repository for the State of Iowa and also provides grants, public education, and outreach about Iowa history an ...

. 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 on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57, ...

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

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

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 c ...

. He was buried in Chicago.

Notes

People from Cupertino, California People from Rowley, Massachusetts People from Brunswick, Maine Politicians from Chicago People 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 politicians Superintendents of Chicago Public Schools American school principals {{US-academic-administrator-1820s-stub