Alcott, Bronson

Alcott, Bronson

▪ American philosopher and educator
in full  Amos Bronson Alcott  
born Nov. 29, 1799, Wolcott, Conn., U.S.
died March 4, 1888, Concord, Mass.

      American philosopher, teacher, reformer, and member of the New England Transcendentalist group.

 The self-educated son of a poor farmer, Alcott traveled in the South as a peddler before establishing a series of schools for children. His educational theories owed something to Johann H. Pestalozzi, the Swiss reformer, but more to the examples of Socrates and the Gospels. His aim was to stimulate thought and “awaken the soul”; his method was conversational, courteous, and gentle. Questions of discipline were referred to the class as a group, and the feature of his school that attracted most attention, perhaps, was his scheme for the teacher's receiving punishment, in certain circumstances, at the hands of an offending pupil, whereby the sense of shame might be instilled in the mind of the errant child.

      These innovations were not widely accepted, and before he was 40 he was forced to close his last school, the famous Temple School in Boston, and sell its contents to ease his debts. In 1842 with money from Ralph Waldo Emerson he visited England, where a similar school founded near London was named Alcott House in his honour. He returned from England with a kindred spirit, the mystic Charles Lane, and together they founded a short-lived (June–December 1843) utopian community, Fruitlands, in Massachusetts. Alcott served as superintendent of schools in Concord, Mass., from 1859 through 1864.

      Alcott was a vegetarian, an abolitionist, and an advocate of women's rights; his thought was vague, lofty, and intensely spiritual. Always poor or in debt, he worked as a handyman or lived on the bounty of others until the literary success of his second daughter, Louisa May Alcott, and the popularity of his lectures on the lyceum circuit finally brought him financial security.

      The best of Alcott's writing is available in The Journals of Bronson Alcott (1938), selected and edited by Odell Shepard.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Alcott, Louisa May — born Nov. 29, 1832, Germantown, Pa., U.S. died March 6, 1888, Boston, Mass. U.S. author. Daughter of the reformer Bronson Alcott, she grew up in Transcendentalist circles in Boston and Concord, Mass. She began writing to help support her mother… …   Universalium

  • Bronson — The name Bronson may refer to:Peopleurname*Bryan Bronson, American hurdler *Charles Bronson, actor *Charles Bronson (prisoner), British convicted prisoner who renamed himself after the actor *Deming Bronson, Congressional Medal of Honor… …   Wikipedia

  • Alcott — is a surname and may refer to:*Amos Bronson Alcott (1799 1888), American educator and writer *Abigail May Alcott Nieriker (1840 1879), American artist and sister of Louisa May *Chemmy Alcott, British alpine skier *Louisa May Alcott (1832 1888),… …   Wikipedia

  • Alcott — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888), US amerikanischer Schriftsteller und Pädagoge Chemmy Alcott (* 1982), britische Skirennläuferin John Alcott (1930–1986), britischer Kameramann Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alcott — Alcott, 1) Amos Bronson, amerikan. Schriftsteller, geb. 1799 in Wolcott (Connecticut), gest. 1888 in Boston, war Lehrer, Literat und Philosoph und galt lange als Haupt der Transzendentalistengruppe von Concord, an deren Organ »The Dial« er… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Alcott — [ôl′kət] 1. (Amos) Bronson [brän′sən] 1799 1888; U.S. philosopher and educational reformer 2. Louisa May 1832 88; U.S. novelist: daughter of (Amos) Bronson …   English World dictionary

  • Bronson Pinchot — (* 20. Mai 1959 in New York City als Bronson Alcott Pinchot) ist ein US amerikanischer Schauspieler. Leben und Leistungen Pinchot wuchs in Kalifornien auf. Er absolvierte im Jahr 1977 die South Pasadena High School, dann studierte er an der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alcott — Alcott, Amos Bronson Alcott, Louise May …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alcott —   [ ɔːlkət], Louisa May, amerikanische Schriftstellerin, * Germantown (heute zu Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 29. 11. 1832, ✝ Boston (Massachusetts) 6. 3. 1888; Tochter des Pädagogen und Philosophen Amos Bronson Alcott (* 1799, ✝ 1888); lebte und… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Bronson Pinchot — Infobox actor imagesize = caption = Pinchot, September 1987 birthname = Bronson Alcott Pinchot birthdate = birth date and age|1959|05|20 birthplace = New York City, New York deathdate = deathplace = othername = yearsactive = spouse = homepage =… …   Wikipedia

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