author
J. Harold (John Harold) Putman
1866–1940
A Canadian educator and writer, he is best remembered for exploring how public schooling took shape in Ontario and for helping shape school practice in Ottawa. His work blends the practical eye of an inspector with a deep interest in educational history and reform.
1 Audiobook
Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper Canada
by J. Harold (John Harold) Putman
About the author
Born in 1866, J. Harold Putman was a Canadian teacher, school inspector, and author whose career was closely tied to public education in Ontario. Sources on his books identify him as an inspector of public schools in Ottawa, and later scholarship describes him as an important figure in progressive education there.
He is best known as the author of Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper Canada (1912), a study of the development of schooling in Ontario through the life and influence of Egerton Ryerson. The book reflects both his historical interests and his firsthand experience inside the school system, giving his writing a practical, informed tone.
Putman also appears in later educational history as a senior Ottawa school official and reform-minded educator whose ideas mattered well beyond his own classroom and city. He died in 1940, leaving behind work that is still used by readers interested in Canadian educational history.