 samuel gridley howe (november 10, 1801 â january 9, 1876) was a nineteenth century united states physician, abolitionist, and an advocate of education for the blind. he organized and was the first director of the perkins institution. an abolitionist, in 1863, he was one of three men appointed by the secretary of war to the american freedmen's inquiry commission, to investigate conditions of freedmen in the south since the emancipation proclamation and recommend how they could be aided in their transition to freedom. in addition to traveling to the south, howe traveled to canada west (now ontario, canada), where thousands of former slaves had escaped to freedom and established new lives; he interviewed freedmen as well as government officials in canada. ==early life and education== howe was born on pearl street in boston, massachusetts on november 10, 1801.richards, laura e. (howe). letters and journals of samuel gridley howe, p. 13. boston: dana estes & company, 1909 his father joseph neals howe was a ship-owner and cordage manufacturer.richards, laura e. (howe). "letters and journals of samuel gridley howe", page 14. boston: dana estes & company, 1909. his mother patty (gridley) howe was considered to be one of the most beautiful women of her day. howe was educated at boston latin school, where he was cruelly treated, and even beaten, according to his daughter.richards, laura e. (howe). letters and journals of samuel gridley howe, page 14. boston: dana estes & company, 1909. laura (howe) richards later wrote: âso far as i can remember, my father had no pleasant memories of his school days." boston in the early nineteenth century was a hotbed of political foment. howeâs father was a democrat who considered harvard university a den of federalists, and refused to allow his sons to enter the university. accordingly, in 1818, howe's father had him enrolled at brown university.richards (1909), letters and journals of samuel gridley howe, page 15 most of his time there was spent engaged in practical jokes and other hi-jinx and, years later, howe told his children that he regretted that he hadnât more seriously applied himself to his studies. one of his classmates, alexis caswell, became a doctor and future president of brown university; he described howe by the following: âhe showed mental capa
1801_births 1876_deaths 19th-century_American_people 19th_century_in_Boston,_Massachusetts American_abolitionists American_educationists American_non-fiction_writers American_philanthropists American_physicians Blind_academics Brown_University_alumni Burials_at_Mount_Auburn_Cemetery Harvard_Medical_School_alumni Massachusetts_Whigs People_from_Boston,_Massachusetts Philhellenes United_States_Sanitary_Commission