William Holmes McGuffey
Buffalo Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Educator and author of the famed McGuffey Eclectic Readers for grade schools, was born five miles SW of here, Sept. 23, 1800. First published in 1836, the Readers sold 122 million copies during the next 85 years and were used in some 35 states. Their stories, essays, and poems taught moral lessons as well as reading skills.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born nearby in 1800, William Holmes McGuffey compiled the McGuffey Eclectic Readers, first published in 1836, which taught generations of American schoolchildren to read. Blending reading instruction with moral lessons drawn from stories, essays, and poems, the Readers sold some 122 million copies over the next 85 years and were adopted in dozens of states. Few textbooks have so shaped a nation's classrooms.
Why it matters
The McGuffey Readers standardized reading and moral instruction across 19th-century America, quietly molding the values and literacy of millions.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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