Francis Wayland Parker

Francis Wayland Parker was a pioneer of the progressive school movement in the United States. He believed that education should include the complete development of an individual — mental, physical, and moral. John Dewey called him the "father of progressive education." He worked to create curriculum that centered on the whole child and a strong language background. He was against standardization, isolated drill and rote learning. He helped to show that education was not just about cramming information into students' minds, but about teaching students to think for themselves and become independent people.

9 October 1837

Born on the same birth day (9 October): Bella Hadid • Emil Fischer • Georges Gauthier • Hermann von Ihering • Jacob Batalon • Jan Christian Vestre • Joe Pepitone • Linwood Boomer • Léopold Sédar Senghor • PJ Harvey • Paul Radisich • Robert Wuhl • Sarah Lovell • Tadeusz Różewicz • Walter O'Malley

Born in the same month (October 1837): Auguste-Réal Angers • Harriet Powers • Moritz Kaposi • Nicolás Avellaneda • Robert Gould Shaw • Tokugawa Yoshinobu