Francis Woodman

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Francis Call Woodman (1864-1959) was an American teacher and educational administrator. Woodman co-founded the Morristown School (now the Morristown-Beard School) in Morristown, New Jersey with former Harvard University classmates Thomas Quincy Brown, Jr. and Arthur Pierce Butler.[1] Woodman then served as the school's first headmaster during its first 19 years (1898-1917). During World War I, he served as an educational advisor for the YMCA in France.[2] Woodman later worked as an independent education consultant.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Woodman was born on June 13, 1864. He grew up in Jamaica Plain, a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and he graduated from Roxbury Latin School. Woodman then completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University in 1888.[2]

During his studies at Harvard, Woodman played the positions of left tackle and placekicker for the Harvard Crimson football team with the nickname of "Jumbo".[4] He competed against football teams from Princeton University whose players included William Irvine, the founder and first Headmaster at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.[5] In an exhibition game played against Phillips Exeter Academy, Woodman successfully kicked 20 field goals. The game had a final score of 154-0.[4] Woodman also played on Harvard's crew team alongside Charles Francis Adams III, the Secretary of the Navy during the Hoover Presidential Administration.[2] After Woodman fell ill in 1948, four Harvard football players from the 1947 team, including the team captain, donated blood to assist his recovery.[4]

Publishing work[edit]

Following graduation from college, Woodman joined the publishing firm Longmans, Green, & Co. (now an imprint of Pearson PLC). He served as head of the educational department at their New York City office for seven years.[2]

Family[edit]

Woodman married Melanie Martha Muller in Newburyport, Massachusetts on June 29, 1943. At the time, Muller served as the head of the Art Department at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ John W. Rae (2002). Morristown: A Military Headquarters of the American Revolution.
  2. ^ a b c d "FC Woodman, Ex-Grid Star, Educator". The Boston Globe. 6 September 1959.
  3. ^ a b "Francis C. Woodman, Melanie M. Muller Wed in Newburyport". The Boston Globe. 1 July 1943.
  4. ^ a b c Dean Brelis (14 January 1948). "4 Harvard Grid Men Give Blood to '88 Star". The Boston Globe.
  5. ^ W. E. Johnston. "Athletics and the College". The Colorado School of Mines Magazine. 2: 211.