Today I’m linking up with Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee for her 26 Lists link up. This week’s prompt is “historical figures.” I wasn’t sure what kind of list of historical figures I should write, and as I was looking at various lists that have already been written, I started thinking about historical figures that aren’t problematic. I landed on this site that was talking about historical figures you could name a school after and thought I’d make a list of various historical figures after which things in my life had been named.
1. William Woodruff
My elementary school was named after William Woodruff – the first principal and teacher in my home town. He first taught 18 children and rode to school by horse and buggy. He retired in 1935.
2. Governor Livingston
My high school was named after Governor William Livingston, the first governor of NJ. He was a signatory on the US Constitution.
3. Henry Rutgers
Henry Rutgers was a Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist who donated a bond towards Rutgers University.
4. Elizabeth Carteret
While most people would think the town of Elizabeth, NJ, where I lived after getting married, was named after Queen Elizabeth, it was actually named after Elizabeth the wife of George Carteret, one of the two original Proprietors of the colony of NJ. Interestingly, the town I grew up in was named after the other Proprietor – John Berkeley!
5. Thomas Johnson
I currently live in Johnson County KS and discovered that the county was named after a missionary, Thomas Johnson. Talk about problematic – he founded a mission meant to convert the Shawnee people and he was a slave holder. He was murdered towards the end of the Civil War. Hmm, maybe we need to rename this county!
Who is a historical figure that you know of based on something named after them?
