Horace M. Hale

Horace Morrison Hale (March 6, 1833 – October 24, 1901) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as the second president of the University of Colorado from 1887 to 1892. He previously served as Colorado's first State Superintendent of Public Instruction from August 1876 to January 1877.

Biography Born on March 6, 1833, in Hollis, New Hampshire, Hale moved with his family to Rome, New York, in 1837 and then to North Bloomfield, Ontario County, New York, in 1840. He then worked his way through college, attending Genesee Wesleyan Seminary for a year, Genesee College for two years and Union College for a year.

After graduation, Hale taught school in West Bloomfield, New York, for a year. He then taught in Nashville, Tennessee, until 1861, when he returned to North Bloomfield after Tennessee seceded from the Union. Hale soon obtained a new teaching position in Detroit, Michigan, where he also began to study law. but had developed a severe case of bronchitis. On the advice of his physician, he moved to the home of his brother Albert Hale in Central City, Colorado. Over the next five years, Horace Hale engaged in physical outdoor labor until he had fully recovered. In 1889, he was conferred an honorary LL.D. degree by Iowa Wesleyan University. In January 1892, Hale retired to Denver, Colorado. Construction of the building had begun during his term as president of the University of Colorado.

Hale married Martha Eliza Huntington on August 4, 1859. They had one son, Irving Hale. He was interred at Fairmount Cemetery three days later.

Publications The Common School Law of the Territory of Colorado (1874) Education in Colorado, 1861–1885 (1885)