author
Joel Dorman Steele
1836–1886
A pioneering American educator, he helped turn science and history into lively, accessible subjects for generations of students. Working closely with his wife, Esther Baker Steele, he wrote hugely popular schoolbooks that shaped classrooms in the late 19th century.
2 Audiobooks
A Brief History of the United States
by Joel Dorman Steele
About the author
Born in Lima, New York, in 1836, Joel Dorman Steele became a teacher and school leader before making his biggest mark as a writer of textbooks. He graduated from Genesee College in 1858, taught in New York schools, and later served in the Civil War, where he was seriously wounded during the Peninsula Campaign.
Steele is best remembered for the "Fourteen Weeks" series, books that aimed to make subjects like chemistry, physics, astronomy, zoology, and physiology easier and more interesting for ordinary students. He also wrote history texts, and many of these works were created in partnership with his wife, Esther Baker Steele, who was an important author in her own right.
He died in Elmira, New York, in 1886. Although he is less widely known today than some later education reformers, his books were enormously popular in their time and helped bring science learning into many American classrooms.