Elisha Ticknor

Elisha Ticknor (25 March 1757 Lebanon, Connecticut - 22 June 1821 Hanover, New Hampshire) was an educator and merchant and the father of Boston author George Ticknor.

In 1774, Ticknor's parents moved their farm from Lebanon, Connecticut, to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and he continued helping on it. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1783, and was connected with various schools, becoming in 1788 headmaster of Franklin Grammar School in Boston. After filling this post for several years, he resigned on account of his health. In 1795 he became a grocer in Boston. He did well enough at this that he eventually gained time to devote to civic and intellectual interests. He made one of the earliest efforts to improve female education in Massachusetts, and originated the scheme for public primary schools in Boston, proposing them at a town meeting in 1818. He founded the first insurance company, Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and the first savings bank, Provident Institution for Savings, in the city. In 1818 he presented a plan to prevent the causes and perfect the cure of pauperism in Boston. He stressed the importance of reducing illiteracy.

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