History of Stony Point, (Rockland County) New York United States of America

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Edward Brooks, educator, was born at Stony Point, on the Hudson, N.Y., Jan. 16, 1831. He received an academic education, and in 1846 went into his father's factory, where he remained for three years in order to learn something of business methods, continuing his studies in his spare time. In 1849 He taught first a singing and afterward a district school, and in the following year attended one session of the Liberty normal institute, and was graduated valedictorian of his class. He then entered the University of Northern Pennsylvania as an assistant teacher, with the opportunity of continuing his studies in higher mathematics and literature. Before the end of the year he was made tutor of the classes in higher mathematics, and in the following year was elected professor of the department. The next year he was placed in charge of the department of literature, and aided in introducing a new system of grammatical analysis. In 1854 he accepted the chair of literature and mathematics in the Monticello academy, N.Y., and in the following year the professorship of mathematics in the state normal school at Millersville, Pa., a position which he held for eleven years, during which time he developed a new system of mathematical instruction that gave the school a national reputation. He published a series of mathematical text-books, which became models for many other works upon the subject. In 1866 he was elected president of the school to succeed Prof. James P. Wickersham. As he was thoroughly acquainted with its workings the promotion was in the line of services. In 1858 the degree of M.A. was conferred upon him by Union college. In 1868 he was unanimously elected to the presidency of the Pennsylvania state teathers' association. In 1876 the degree of doctor of philosophy was conferred upon him by three different institutions. At the Centennial exposition in Philadelphia he had charge of the normal department of the Pennsylvania exhibit, and his mathematical works on exhibition were favorably noticed by the French commissioners of education in their report to their government. In 1883 he resigned his position at Millersville and settled in Philadelphia. The following year he was elected president of the National school of oratory, which position he resigned at the end of a year to devote himself to general educational work. He gave courses of lectures in connection with the various summer schools for the education of teachers, and for two years had charge of the normal department of the Florida Chautauqua. In the spring of 1891 he was elected superintendent of public schools in Philadelphia. In 1893 he was president of the department of superintendence of the National educational association. His published works include, besides his well-known mathematical text-books: "Philosophy of Arithmetic" (1876); "Normal Methods of Teaching" (1879); "Elocution and Reading" (1882); "Mental Science and Culture" (1882); "Plane and Solid Geometry" (1889); "The Story of the Iliad" (1890); "The Story of the Odyssey" (1891); "Plane and Spherical Trigonometry" (1891); "The Normal Rudiments of Arithmetic" (1895); "The Normal Standard Arithmetic" (1895). King Arthur 1899.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Stony Point, (Rockland County) New York

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