Francis Harvey Green (1861-1951) was an American educator, poet and lecturer. He served as Chair of English at West Chester Normal School for 30 years and as Headmaster of the Pennington School.

Early life and education

Green was born in Booth’s Corner, Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania on May 19, 1861 to Sharpless and Mary Booth Green.

Green graduated from West Chester Normal School in 1882. He received a Masters of Arts degree from Dickinson University in 1893. Temple University honored him with a Doctor of Literature in 1909 and Juniata College with a Doctor of Laws in 1931. He did special work in English, especially Anglo-Saxon, at Amherst College (1860) and Harvard (1894-1895).

Career

He served as the Chair of English at Juniata College until 1888 and then took a similar position with the West Chester Normal School in 1890. He held the position of Chair of English at West Chester Normal School for 30 years. He resigned in 1920 to become headmaster of the Pennington School in New Jersey. He retired in 1943 but continued as headmaster emeritus

He was known as a reformer who lectured frequently on temperance and moral issues and formed the Knights of Temperance in Chester County.

He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Teachers Association, National Education Association, Transatlantic Society, American Asiatic Association, Harvard Club and Dickens Fellowship.

He was the President of the YMCA in West Chester, Pennsylvania and of the Chester County Historical Society.

The State of Pennsylvania honored him during Pennsylvania Week, 1949, by naming him Pennsylvania Ambassador, for outstanding achievement in the best tradition of the Commonwealth.

West Chester University named their library after Dr. Green in May 1947. A new library dedicated on October 30, 1966 was also named after Dr. Green.

Bethel township named the first non-single room school in their township after Dr. Green. He was present at the groundbreaking ceremony and spoke of education in Bethel. Dr. Green died within a few months and was not able to see the completion and opening of the school. The dedication for Francis Harvey Green School took place on November 9, 1952. The school was demolished in 2010.

Publications

• Notes on Rhetoric (1909)
• Quotations from Great Authors (1919)
• What They Say Day by Day (1916)
• What Others Say Each Passing Day (1920)
• Desirable Degrees (1922)

Personal life

Dr. Green married Gertrude Langdon, an English teacher at Bryn Mawr College, on September 12, 1911. Both Dr. Green and Mrs. Green are buried at Siloam United Methodist Church.