Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Bicknell, Thomas Williams

BICKNELL, Thomas Williams, educator, b. in Barrington, R. I., 6 Sept., 1834. He began his collegiate education at Amherst, but was graduated at Brown in 1860. During his senior year in college he was elected a member of the Rhode Island state legislature. From 1860 till 1869 he taught, and was principal of schools in Rehobart, Bristol, Providence, R. I., and in Elgin, Ill., after which, until 1875, he was state commissioner of public schools. While holding that office he secured the re-establishment of the State Normal School in 1871, the appointment of a school superintendent in each town, the organization of a board of education, and other important measures. Mr. Bicknell has been very active in educational journalism, and during the years 1874–'86 he founded, edited, and owned "The Journal of Education," "The Primary Teacher," "The American Teacher," "Education; a Bimonthly Magazine," and "Good Times." The New England Bureau of Education and the National Council of Education were organized by him. He has delivered numerous educational lectures and addresses, and has at various times been president of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, American Institute of Instruction, National Council of Education, National Educational Association, Interstate Commission for Federal Aid, Chautauqua Teachers' Reading Union, and of the Massachusetts, New England, and International Sunday-school unions. He has published "Biography of William Lord Noyes" (Providence, 1867); "Historical Sketches of Barrington, R. I." (Providence, 1870); "Reports of the Commissioner of Public Schools" (Providence, 1869-'75); and "History of the Bicknell Family" (Boston, 1883).