Seedbed of Reform: Arnold Guyot and School Geography in Massachusetts, 1849-1855

Swiss-born Arnold Henri Guyot (1807-1884) was the first professionally trained geographer to hold an academic position in the United States. After his migration to this country in 1848 he lived for several years in Massachusetts. During this period he introduced contemporary German-Swiss ideas of geography to key opinion leaders in an important series of lectures (published as Earth and Man), established a system of weather stations, and lectured on methods of teaching geography in Massachusetts teachers' institutes and normal schools. This article discusses Guyot's work in the reform of school geography in Massachusetts as the seedbed for his later, better-known work as the author of innovative textbooks and other teaching aids.