Person:William Reid (9)

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume IX REID, William Thomas, educator, was born near Jacksonville, Ill., Nov. 8, 1843; son of George Washington and Martha Elizabeth (Williams) Reid, and grandson of Stephen Holland and Mary (Prather) Reid and of William White and Lydia (Williams) Whitehurst Williams of Virginia. From his father's death in 1850 until 1859 he worked on his grandfather's farm. He attended Illinois college, 1859-61, enlisted in the 68th Illinois volunteers as sergeant in April, 1861, and served near Alexandria, Va. He was graduated from Harvard, A.B., 1868, A.M., 1872, and was principal of the high school at Newport, R.I., 1868-71, meanwhile studying law, which he finally abandoned. He was married, Aug. 16, 1870, to Julia, daughter of Maro McLean and Elizabeth (Lathrop) Reed, of Jacksonville, Ill. He was assistant to Dr. Francis Gardner, head master of the Boston Latin school, 1871-73; superintendent of the public schools of Brookline, Mass., 1873-75, and principal of the Boys' high school at San Francisco, Cal., 1875-81. He was elected president of the University of California at Berkeley in 1881, succeeding Dr. John LeConte, and filled the office until 1885, when he resigned, and founded and opened the Belmont School in Belmont, San Mateo county, Cal.

Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century. page 779 REID, WILLIAM THOMAS, soldier, educator, was born Nov. 8, 1842, in Jacksonville, Ill. He received his education at Harvard college. During the war he served as a soldier in the union army, with the rank of sergeant, and was mustered out with recommendation as major. He has been headmaster of the high school of Newport, R. I.; headmaster's assistant of the Boston Latin school; superintendent Brookline schools; headmaster boys' high school of San Francisco; headmaster of the Belmont school, and president of the university of California. His administration was characterized by a wisely conservative devotion to high educational ideals; and after four years of tireless industry, he resigned to carry out a long-cherished plan of founding a school which should do for the Pacific coast what Rugby has done for England. In pursuance of this plan, he opened the Belmont school of Belmont, Cal., in 1885, of which he is still the head.