William T. Harris (1835 - 1909)

William Torrey Harris (September 10, 1835 – November 5, 1909) was an American educator, philosopher, and lexicographer. Born in North Killingly, Connecticut, he attended Phillips Andover Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. He completed two years at Yale, then moved west and taught school in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1857 to 1880, where he was superintendent of schools from 1868 to 1880, and established, with Susan E. Blow, America's first permanent public kindergarten in 1873.