Horace Mann - Boston, MA - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

A 102" by 40" by 42" bronze statue of educator Horace Mann stands on a 97" by 73" by 67" granite base. The educational reformer is dressed in long academic robes over a suit and is wearing a bow tie. He is clutching a book to his chest with his left hand while extending his right arm and hand forward.

The sculpture of Horace Mann was created by New York born sculptor Emma Stebbins and cast at the Royal Foundry. Emma Stebbins created the sculpture while living in Rome, Italy, around 1865. The sculpture was a gift from the school children and teachers of Massachusetts.

The bronze plinth is inscribed in raised letters HORACE MANN. The front of the granite base is inscribed:

Horace Mann was born on May 4, 1796 in Franklin, MA. He attended Brown University and then Litchfield Law School. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1823.

Horace Mann became an important politician and an influential educational reformer whose ideas are the basis for America's public school system. As a Massachusetts State Legislature, first Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, and member of the United States House of Representatives, he advocated that education should be universal, non-sectarian, and free. He believed universal public education was the best way to create responsible citizens.

In 1852, Horace Mann was chosen president of the newly established Antioch College at Yellow Springs, OH, of the few institutions to accept African-American students at the time. He held that position until his death on August 2, 1859 at age 63. He is buried in the North Burial Ground in Providence, RI.