Henry Barnard

Henry Barnard (January 24, 1811 – July 5, 1900) was an American educator and reformer.

Biography He was born in Hartford, Connecticut on January 24, 1811 and attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy. He graduated from Yale University in 1830 and was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1835. In 1837–1839, he was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, effecting in 1838 the passage of a bill, drafted and introduced by himself, which provided for "the better supervision of the common schools", and established a board of "commissioners of common schools" in the state. He was the secretary of the board from 1838 until its abolition in 1842, and during this time worked indefatigably to reorganize and reform the common school system of the state, thus earning a national reputation as an educational reformer.

In 1843, he was appointed by the governor of Rhode Island agent to examine the public schools of the state, and recommended improvements; and his work resulted in the reorganization of the school system two years later. From 1845 to 1849, he was the first commissioner of public schools in the state, and his administration was marked by a decided step in educational progress. In 1845, Barnard established the first "Rhode Island Teachers Institute" at Smithville Seminary.

Returning to Connecticut, from 1851 to 1855, he was "superintendent of common schools", and principal of the Connecticut State Normal School at New Britain, Connecticut. He also edited from 1838 to 1842, and again from 1851 to 1854, the Connecticut Common School Journal, and from 1846 to 1849 the Journal of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction.

He is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford. The Henry Barnard School at Rhode Island College and the Henry Barnard School in New Rochelle, New York are named in his honor. There is also an elementary school named in his honor in Enfield, CT-Henry Barnard Elementary School.