Theodore Harding Rand (8 February 1835 – 29 May 1900) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Early life

He was born 8 February 1835 in

Canard, Nova Scotia Canard is a rural community occupying a ridge to the north of the Canard River between the Canard and Habitant Rivers in Kings County in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The name comes from the French word for duck which was in turn deri ...

, to Thomas Woodworth Rand, deacon of First Cornwallis Baptist Church, and Eliza Irene Barnaby. A

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, Rand attended

Acadia College Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondar ...

Wolfville, Nova Scotia Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination d ...

, which had been founded by the Baptist community in 1838. Rand graduated from Acadia College in 1860.

Career

Upon graduation, Rand became

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at the Provincial Normal School in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Scottish Gaelic: ''Trùru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River (Nova Scotia), Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth ...

. Working at a normal school, which was charged with training future

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s, Rand soon developed an interest in

education policy Education policy consists of the principles and policy decisions that influence the field of education, as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems. Education governance may be shared between the local ...

. He became interested in the

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 ...

movement and travelled to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to study the common school phenomenon. He began to advocate common schools for

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and produced writings and lectures on the topic. He also married Emeline Augusta Eaton on 5 November 1861 in Canard. Rand's advocacy proved successful in 1864, when the government of

, led by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...

passed legislation creating a common school system for Nova Scotia. Tupper appointed Rand as Nova Scotia's first

Superintendent of Education In the American education system, a superintendent or superintendent of schools is an administrator or manager in charge of a number of public schools or a school district, a local government body overseeing public schools. All school principals ...

, and Rand oversaw the creation of Nova Scotia's

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

system. In 1871,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, under the leadership of the

Liberal-Conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

George Edwin King George Edwin King (October 8, 1839 – May 7, 1901) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, second and fourth premier of New Brunswick, and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. King was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and attended Wesl ...

, passed the Common Schools Act to create a series of common schools in New Brunswick. Upon King's invitation, Rand became New Brunswick's first Superintendent of Education and oversaw the creation of public education in New Brunswick. Rand meanwhile continued his own education and became a

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

from Acadia College in 1874.

Later life

Rand left the world of public education in 1883, when he became Professor of

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Didactics A didactic method (from ''didáskein'', "to teach") is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students. The didactic method of instruction is often contrasted with dialecti ...

at Acadia College. In 1885, he moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to take a position at the Toronto Baptist College (created in 1881 through funding provided by

William McMaster William McMaster (24 December 1811 – 22 September 1887) was a Canadian wholesaler, senator and banker in the 19th century. A director of the Bank of Montreal from 1864 to 1867, he was a driving force behind the creation of the Canadian B ...

). In 1886, he moved to

Woodstock, Ontario Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 46,705 according to the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, Ontario, Oxford County, at the head of the Thames River, On ...

to become college president of the Baptist Woodstock College. In 1890, the

Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) is a Baptist Christian denomination in central Canada. The organization's headquarters is based in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. CBOQ is a partner of Canadian Baptist Ministries. History In 1 ...

voted to merge Toronto Baptist College and Woodstock College. The merged university was named

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in honour of William McMaster's financial support. Rand served as

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of McMaster University from 1892 to 1895.

Sources

* Margaret Conrad, "'An Abiding Conviction of the Paramount Importance of Christian Education': Theodore Harding Rand as Educator, 1860-1900," in Robert S. Wilson, ed., ''An Abiding Conviction: Maritime Baptists and Their World'' (Saint John: Acadia Divinity College and the Baptist Historical Committee, 1988), pp. 155–95 * Barry Moody, "'The Trail of the Serpent': The Appointment of a 'Professor of Didactics' at Acadia College, 1883", in ''Historical Identities: The Professoriate in Canada'', ed. Paul Stortz & E. Lisa Panayotidis (2006)

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* * *

"Autumn", "The Willow at Grand-Pré", and "

Glooscap Glooscap (variant forms and spellings ''Gluskabe'', ''Glooskap'', ''Gluskabi'', ''Kluscap'', ''Kloskomba'', or ''Gluskab'') is a legendary figure of the Wabanaki peoples, native peoples located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Atlantic Ca ...

" * Theodore H. Rand, ''At

Minas Basin The Minas Basin () is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides. Geography The Minas Basin forms the eastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits ...

: And Other Poem'' (1898)
Link
* Theodore H. Rand, ''Song-waves'' (1900)
Link
* Theodore H. Rand, ed., ''A Treasury of Canadian Verse: With Brief Biographical Notes'' (1900)
Link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Theodore Harding 1835 births 1900 deaths Chancellors of McMaster University Colony of New Brunswick people Canadian educators Canadian Baptists Academic staff of Nova Scotia Teachers College 19th-century Baptists