Charles H. (Charles Henry) Ham

Born in New Hampshire in 1831, Charles Henry Ham built a varied career that included law, journalism, and public service. He worked in private practice in Chicago, served as appraiser of the Port of Chicago, wrote editorials for the Chicago Tribune, and later joined the federal Board of General Appraisers, eventually serving as its president.

As an author, he is best remembered for writing about education and manual training. His 1900 book Mind and Hand: Manual Training, the Chief Factor in Education presented a clear, energetic argument that schools should connect intellectual study with useful, hands-on work.

Ham died in 1902. Today, his writing offers a window into a moment when American educators were rethinking how schools could prepare students not just to know more, but to do more.