Herbert Baxter Adams
Herbert Baxter Adams | |
---|---|
PhD) | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | History |
Institutions | Johns Hopkins University |
Academic advisors | Johann Gustav Droysen Johann Kaspar Bluntschli |
Doctoral students | Charles Homer Haskins Frederick Jackson Turner |
Signature | |
Herbert Baxter Adams (April 16, 1850 – July 30, 1901) was an American educator and historian who brought German rigor to the study of history and social science in America.[1] He was a founding member of the American Historical Association, and one of the earliest educators using the seminar for teaching history. With a fresh PhD from the Heidelberg University in Germany, Johns Hopkins University brought Adams in as a teaching fellow in history during their inaugural year. Adams stayed with Johns Hopkins until his health failed.
Adams was instrumental in organizing the American Historical Association. A leading organizer of American graduate schools, he contributed to various reform efforts. He has been characterized as a His legacy is honored through various awards and professorships at Johns Hopkins University.
Early life
Adams was born to
On his mother's side, he was a descendant of Thomas Hastings who came from the East Anglia region of England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.[3]
Herbert B. Adams received his early training in the Amherst, Massachusetts public schools followed by Phillips Exeter Academy. He graduated from Amherst College, with an AB in 1872 and AM in 1875.[2]
In 1873 Adams traveled to
Career
The new
From 1878 to 1881 Adams was also a lecturer in history at Smith College.[7] He was then a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, from 1881 to 1886.[8]
At Johns Hopkins, in 1880, Adams began his famous
His principal writings are:
- The Germanic Origin of the New England Towns
- Saxon Tithing-Men in America
- Norman Constables in America
- Village Communities
- Methods of Historical Study and,
- Maryland's Influence upon Land Cessions to the United States
All these papers are published in the Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science, edited by Prof. Adams, 4 vols. (Baltimore, 1883–1986).[11] Although less known for his contributions to the history of education, Adams was essential to its early development. He edited the circular series titled, Contributions to American Educational History which was printed and distributed by the U.S. Bureau of Education.
A new class of experts needed new modes of training, and those were provided by the new American graduate schools, built along German models. Adams was a leading organizer. He was a
Last years
Adams was elected as a member of the
Adams made a report to the
Returning to his home in Amherst, Massachusetts, Adams died on July 30, 1901, and was buried next to his parents and older brother in Wildwood Cemetery.[8]
Honors
- Adams House, an undergraduate dormitory at Johns Hopkins University, is named for him.
- The American Historical Association's Herbert Baxter Adams prize was named for him.[14]
- The Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship at Johns Hopkins University was created in his honor.[15]
References
- ISSN 0002-9602.
- ^ a b c d Johnson 1906, p. 40
- ^ Buckminster, Lydia N.H., The Hastings Memorial, A Genealogical Account of the Descendants of Thomas Hastings of Watertown, Mass. from 1634 to 1864. Boston: Samuel G. Drake Publisher (an undated NEHGS photoduplicate of the 1866 edition), 19.
- JSTOR 1889972.
- ^ "Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship in History". April 22, 2016.
- ^ "Herbert Baxter Adams" in Encyclopedia.com: Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ "Professor Herbert Baxter Adams" by B. J. Ramage in The American Historical Magazine Vol. 6, No. 4 (October, 1901), pp. 363-366
- ^ a b c d e Johnson 1906, p. 41
- ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory Archived 2017-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
- New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
- ^ Wilson & Fiske 1900.
- ^ Raymond Cunningham, "'Scientia Pro Patria': Herbert Baxter Adams and Mugwump Academic Reform at Johns Hopkins, 1876-1901." Prospects (1990), Vol. 15, pp 109-144.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Herbert Baxter Adams Prize". American Historical Association. January 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- ^ "Herbert Baxter Adams Professorship". April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
- public domain: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Adams, Herbert Baxter". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. pp. 40–41. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Cunningham, Raymond. "'Scientia Pro Patria': Herbert Baxter Adams and Mugwump Academic Reform at Johns Hopkins, 1876-1901." Prospects (1990), Vol. 15, pp 109–144.
- "Herbert Baxter Adams", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2013, retrieved October 14, 2016
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .
- Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. .
External links
- Herbert Baxter Adams papers, 1850-1901, at Johns Hopkins University.
- Works by or about Herbert Baxter Adams at Internet Archive
- "Herbert B. Adams," by John Martin Vincent, in Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1901, Vol. 1, pp. 197–210.
- Descendants of Thomas Hastings website
- Descendants of Thomas Hastings on Facebook
- Descendants of Henry Adams of Braintree