Henry H. Straight
| Henry Straight | |
|---|---|
| 2nd President of Peru State College | |
|
In office 1871 – 1871 |
|
| Preceded by | John M. McKenzie |
| Succeeded by | A. D. Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Henry Harrison Straight July 20, 1846 Charlotte, Chautauqua, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 1886 (aged 40) Pasadena California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) | Emma Dickerman |
| Relations |
Dorothy Payne Whitney (daughter-in-law) Whitney Willard Straight (grandson) Beatrice Whitney Straight (granddaughter) Michael Whitney Straight (grandson) |
| Children |
Willard Dickerman Straight Hazel Straight |
| Education | Oberlin College |
| Alma mater |
Cornell University Harvard University |
| Occupation | Professor |
Henry Harrison Straight (July 20, 1846 – November 17, 1886) was an American geologist, professor, second president of Peru State College, and the father of investment banker and diplomat Willard Dickerman Straight.
Henry Harrison Straight was born on July 20, 1846, in Charlotte, New York, within Chautauqua County, New York. He was orphaned while still a boy and supported himself by working on a local farm.
When he was 16 he began teaching at his first school, earning $39 from three months' teaching that afforded him the opportunity to enter the preparatory school of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. He later attended special study at Cornell University and became a member of the Royal Geographical Society. From 1875 to 1876, he was at Harvard University and again at Cornell University, in another special study.
From January 1871 until 1873, Straight became a science teacher as well as the second president (referred to as principal at the time) of Peru Normal School in Peru, Nebraska, establishing the reputation for the young college that was only opened six years earlier in 1865. He took over as president from the College's first president, John M. McKenzie.
In 1873, he joined the Science Department of Central Missouri Normal School in Warrensburg along with his wife, Emma, also an educator. In the summer of 1873, Henry and Emma attended the inaugural program at the Anderson School of Natural History on Penikese Island, a school for naturalists and science teachers ran by distinguished Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz. After Straight returned to Missouri, he tried to put into practice the methods of scientific study that Agassiz taught, combining them with procedures he developed as a classroom teacher at Peru. Henry worked at the College until 1875, when he and Emma both resigned. In 1874, he returned to the Pekinese and in 1875, he embarked on a geological expedition in the mountains of Carolina and Kentucky with Harvard professor and director of Kentucky Geological Survey, Nathaniel Shaler.
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