Martin Brumbaugh
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Martin Grove Brumbaugh (April 14, 1862March 14, 1930) was an American
politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as the 26th
governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
, from 1915 until 1919. He is frequently referred to as M.G. Brumbaugh, as was common among members of the Brumbaugh family. He also led education reform efforts in Puerto Rico after the U.S. took over from Spain after the
Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...
and in Pennsylvania.


Early life

Brumbaugh was born in Huntingdon County,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and raised in Woodcock Valley. He worked for his father, both on the family farm and Brumbaugh general store, and was raised in the
German Baptist Brethren German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...
, popularly called Dunkers. Brumbaugh attended Huntingdon Normal School (''teacher training school'') in
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
, graduating in 1881. From 1884 until 1890, he was Superintendent of Huntingdon County schools. A voracious reader and researcher, Brumbaugh undertook
postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...
work at both
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
and the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, earning degrees in
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
,
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, and the
general sciences A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...
. He then obtained a Ph.D. from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1894. Brumbaugh married Anna Konigmacher, of Ephrata in 1884. He and Anna were the parents of two children, Edwin and Mabel. His wife died in 1914. He married Flora Belle Parks on January 29, 1916.


Career

Brumbaugh returned to work at Huntingdon Normal School (now renamed
Juniata College Juniata College () is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational normal school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren. It was originally founded as a cent ...
) in 1895, where he stayed until 1910. Brumbaugh remained closely connected to the college, returning to become its president in 1926. A leading proponent of educational modernization, Brumbaugh oversaw reform of the teacher training curriculum for the state of Louisiana. After the American invasion of Puerto Rico, then a wealthy overseas province of Spain, and the Treaty of Paris of 1899, Brumbaugh was charged with implementation of an American-style educational system in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. Brumbaugh dissolved the entire Education Ministry that had been in place for centuries. Brumbaugh had the entire public school faculty, most of whom were trained professors of either Antillean or Peninsular Spanish origins, fired and deported. He then brought from the US Anglophone school teachers, including his cousin Dr. D. Brumbaugh, considered more "friendly to the American cause". The American school teachers spoke only English while the island's primary language was Spanish, with some French and Italian speakers. In less than 18 months, school absenteeism shot up to 98% with the ensuing performance collapse of a population that spoke one language and the teachers another. Those children who did go to school were punished for speaking Spanish, and put down for their culture. With the backing of the U'S. sponsored military government, Brumbaugh "Americanized" the entire curriculum. He re-wrote the Puerto Rican history curriculum, purged from it any data threatening to the "American cause". In addition, he began to edit and doctor data so as to exacerbate anything political or social by the former Spanish authorities, making it negative, out of context and proportion, in a national humiliation process that caused tremendous public outrage and protests. To this day, the island's educational system still suffers from Brumbaugh's "reforms". After he left Puerto Rico he held lecturer positions at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
and
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. In 1906, he became superintendent of the
Philadelphia Public Schools The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-largest school di ...
and gained statewide recognition for his performance in this role. A conservative and religious but usually apolitical man, Brumbaugh was nevertheless courted by the Republican Party to run for governor in 1914, after corruption and infighting marred the
1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
campaign. While in office, Brumbaugh fought to expand educational funding, spur highway construction, and support farmers but also blocked labor reform and supported alcohol prohibition. During his term in office, he chided the state legislature for spending beyond its means and emphasized this point by vetoing 409 pieces of legislation. He received the largest share of the popular vote in the 1916 Republican Party presidential primaries. Brumbaugh was an elected member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
. He was also president of the Pennsylvania German Society in 1927. Brumbaugh died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on March 14, 1930, while playing golf on vacation in
Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst, officially The Village of Pinehurst, is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,581, up from 13,124 in 2010 United States census, 2010. "Pinehur ...
.


Legacy

Brumbaugh Hall is one of the 14 residence halls in the East Halls area of the
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
University Park campus, all named after Pennsylvania Governors. In the college town of
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...
, Calle Brumbaugh is a street named after Brumbaugh. Two schools are named for him in Puerto Rico: the Dr. Martin G. Brumbaugh Graded School in Santa Isabel and the Escuela Brambaugh in San Juan. Both are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


Selected works

* * * * * * ( incomplete version on Wikisource) *


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brumbaugh, Martin Grove 1862 births 1930 deaths Republican Party governors of Pennsylvania Anabaptist writers American members of the Church of the Brethren Church of the Brethren clergy Juniata College alumni Candidates in the 1916 United States presidential election University of Pennsylvania faculty Harvard University faculty Juniata College University of Pennsylvania alumni Members of the American Philosophical Society