Lawrence A. (Lawrence Augustus) Wilkins

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1878, Lawrence Augustus Wilkins became an influential American language educator whose career was closely tied to the teaching of Spanish in schools. Records of his published work show a long run of textbooks and readers, including Spanish in the High Schools (1918), First Spanish Book (1919), Second Spanish Book (1920), and later French and Italian teaching materials.

Wilkins was more than a textbook compiler. Contemporary and historical sources describe him as a leader in modern-language education in New York City schools, and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese credits him as a central force in its founding in 1917 and as its first president. That places him among the early organizers who helped make Spanish a more established subject in American education.

His books reflect that mission: they are practical, classroom-minded, and shaped by the belief that language learning should be clear and usable. Although he is not widely known today outside specialist circles, his work helped build the foundation for Spanish teaching in the United States during a period when the subject was still finding its place in the curriculum.