George Ticknor (1791-1871)

American educator and author. He received his early education from his father, Elisha Ticknor (1757-1821) who had been principal of the Franklin public school and was a founder of the Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, of the system of free primary schools in Boston, and of the first New England Savings bank.

Ticknor entered Dartmouth in the junior class in 1805 and graduated in 1807. He was a classmate and lifelong friend of Thayer. He then studied Latin and Greek in his native Boston for three years, and then law for three years. He was admitted to the bar in 1813 but practiced for only one year. He went to Europe in 1815 and studied at Gottingen for nearly two years, where, conceivably, he encountered Gauss. 

In 1817 he became Smith Professor of French and Spanish at Harvard and began teaching in 1819 after traveling in France, Spain and Portugal. As professor he advocated the creation of departments, the grouping of students in divisions according to proficiency, and the establishment of the elective system. It would be interesting to know how much correspondence he had with Thayer about these things. This also indicates that these ideas were very much in the air at the time, and not, as one might today be led to believe, the sole creation of Thayer. 

In 1835 he resigned his chair and spent another three years in Europe. Then he devoted his time to his chief work, the History of Spanish Literature (3 vols, 1849).

He was especially active in the establishment of the Boston Public Library (1852) and served, 1852-1866, on its Board of Trustees. On its behalf he spent 15 months in Europe at his own expense, and donated books and money to the library at various times. 

There is a long discussion of the 1826 examinations in Pappus, pp. 162-166. See also p. 103. 

TO DO: Investigate his contact with Thayer. What correspondence exists?



Documents where Norton is mentioned:

1821-08-13-Norton-Thayer: Letter from Norton to Thayer, August 13, 1821 about Farrar's translation of Lacroix's algebra and the USMA curriculum.



Sources of information:

Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition (1911), vol. 26, pp. 936, entry on "Ticknor, George."

Created November 2000.
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