George Herbert Palmer

Anne Whitney, Relief of George H. Palmer, 1896, Davis Museum, Wellesley College

George Herbert Palmer (March 9, 1842 – May 8, 1933) was an American scholar and author. He was a graduate, and then professor at Harvard University.

Early life

Palmer was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1842. He attended Phillips Academy, Andover.

In 1864, he graduated at Harvard College, to which he returned, after study at Tübingen, Germany, and at Andover Theological Seminary.

Career

In 1870, Palmer became an instructor of the Greek language. When someone commented that he taught Greek, he said "You are mistaken. I do not teach Greek. I teach boys. Greek is what I start with."CITEREFIthaca_Journal1933 He became an assistant professor of philosophy in 1883 and was an Alford professor of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity at Harvard from 1889 to 1913. Regarding ethics, he said, "Right conduct consists in following one's conscience and doing one's duty for the sake of right and not for any ulterior purpose" and he wished to, "burn the pictures of heaven and quench the fires of hell that men might do right for the sake of the right." It was stated in The Harvard Crimson that he was instrumental in the development of the character of the Philosophy department at Harvard, through his teaching methods and written works. He was particularly interested in classical literature and philosophy, as well as the poet George Herbert. Palmer enjoyed teaching and once said that he would gladly pay Harvard for the right.

Among his books are the translation of The Odyssey, (1884)], The New Education (1887), The Glory of the Imperfect (1898), Self-Cultivation in English (1897). He also wrote The Field of Ethics (1901), The Nature of Goodness (1904), The Life and Works of George Herbert (three volumes, 1905), The Teacher (1908), Intimations of Immortality in the Sonnets of Shakespeare (1912), and Trades and Professions (1914).

While at Harvard, Professor Palmer lived in Dana-Palmer House, which now bears his name. Professor Palmer received honorary degrees from the University of Michigan, Union, Dartmouth, Western Reserve, and Harvard.

Personal life

Daniel Chester French, Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial, Houghton Chapel, Wellesley College

He married his first wife, Ellen Margaret Wellman in 1871 and he was on his own in 1879.

On December 23, 1887, he married, as his second wife, Alice Freeman Palmer, who was the president of Wellesley College. They had a "marriage of comradeship". They both pursued their individual careers, and George contributed efforts to managing the household, particularly when she was at the University of Illinois during her post there as dean of women. He had a home in Boxford, Massachusetts for summer and other vacation trips. Palmer had three sabbaticals, during which they lived in their favorite cities and traveled through the countryside on bicycles. During his third sabbatical, in December 1902, the Palmers were in Paris and Alice required surgery. She died of a heart attack while in recovery. After her death, he wrote The Life of Alice Freeman Palmer (1908).

He did in May 1933.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

Sources

• Crimson Staff (May 8, 1933). "George Herbert Palmer". The Crimson. Harvard University. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
• Gilman, D. C.; Thurston, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Palmer, George Herbert". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• "George Herbert Palmer". Ithaca Journal. May 12, 1933. p. 4. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
• James, Edward T.; Janet Wilson James; Paul S. Boyer; Radcliffe College (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5.
• Massachusetts Moments. "Alice Freeman and George Herbert Palmer Marry December 23, 1887". Massachusetts Moments. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved February 10, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

Further reading

• Kenschaft, Lori J. (2005). Reinventing Marriage: The Love and Work of Alice Freeman Palmer and George Herbert Palmer. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03000-0.
• Palmer, Alice Freeman; George Herbert Palmer (1940). An Academic Courtship: Letters of Alice Freeman and George Herbert Palmer, 1886-1887. Harvard University Press.

External links

• Works by George Herbert Palmer at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about George Herbert Palmer at Internet Archive