John Celivergos Zachos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Celivergos Zachos
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| Born | December 20, 1820 |
| Died | March 20, 1898 (aged 77) New York City
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| Resting place | Newton Cemetery, Newton, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Kenyon College |
| Occupation | Physician, literature professor |
| Known for | Public speech, educational theory |
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Harriet Tompkins Canfield Zachos
(m. 1849–1896) |
| Children | Ainsworth Yeatman Zachos Catharine E. Zachos Mary Helena Zachos Margaret Altona Zachos Elizabeth Zachos Robert H. Zachos |
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John Celivergos Zachos (Greek: Ιωάννης Καλίβεργος Ζάχος; December 20, 1820 – March 20, 1898) was a Greek-American doctor, writer, speaker, inventor, and a leader in education. He strongly believed in equal education for everyone. This included African Americans and women. He also helped improve public speaking methods.
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Early Life and Greek Roots
John Zachos was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). At that time, it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. His parents, Nicholas and Euphrosyne Zachos, were from Athens, Greece.
His father, Nicholas Zachos, was a general in the Greek army. He fought in the Greek War of Independence. Sadly, he died in battle in 1824 when John was just four years old.
An American doctor named Samuel Gridley Howe was also helping Greece. He brought John and other young Greek refugees to the United States. They came to get an education. One of these young people was Christophoros Castanes. He later wrote a book about his journey called The Greek Exile.
Education and Family Life
In 1830, John Zachos began his education in the United States. He attended the Mount Pleasant Classical Institute in Massachusetts. He studied there with other Greek children.
Later, he went to Bristol Manual Labor College. This school combined studying with manual labor. He then followed his teacher, Dr. Chauncey Colton, to Kenyon College in Ohio.
John graduated from Kenyon College in 1840 with high honors. He was known for his excellent speaking skills. He even gave two graduation speeches. One was in ancient Greek, and the other was in English.
After college, John lived in Cincinnati. He taught while working on another degree from Kenyon College. He also studied medicine for three years. However, he decided to focus on teaching and literature instead of becoming a practicing doctor.
In 1849, John Zachos helped start the Literary Club of Cincinnati. Many famous people joined or visited this club. These included future US President Rutherford B. Hayes and William Howard Taft. Famous writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Mark Twain also visited.
John married Harriet Tompkins Canfield on July 26, 1849. They had six children together. Their daughter, Mary Helena Zachos, became a college professor and public speaker. Their son, Ainsworth, was named after John's friend and abolitionist, Ainsworth Rand Spofford.
Teaching and Writing Career
By 1850, John Zachos was a co-owner and principal of the Cincinnati Female Seminary. This was a school for girls. He also helped lead another school in Dayton, Ohio.
He was very active in education in Ohio. He helped create the Association for Advancement of Female Education. He also edited the Ohio Journal of Education.
During the 1850s, John wrote several books. These included The New American Speaker and Introductory Lessons in Reading and Elocution. These books helped people learn to read and speak well.
He also worked at Antioch College in Ohio. He was the principal of the school's preparatory section. He taught courses on English poets and Shakespeare. He continued to travel and work with other organizations during this time.
Before the Civil War, he wrote four more books. These focused on public speaking and education.
Work During the American Civil War
When the Civil War began, John Zachos was asked to go to Port Royal, South Carolina. He was sent by education groups from Boston and New York. His mission was to show that former slaves could be educated.
On March 13, 1862, John was on Parris Island. He was in charge of 400 freed slaves on a plantation. He spent 16 months there. He worked as an army surgeon, teacher, and store keeper. He even wrote and recited poetry to the freed slaves.
Ye sons of burning Afric's soil, Lift up your hands of hardened toil Your shouts from every hill recoil Today you are free
John left Parris Island in late 1863. He had learned a lot about how former slaves learned to read. He noticed that older slaves sometimes had a harder time.
He returned to Boston and started a new project. He gathered a group of immigrants who could not speak or read English. He used the teaching methods he learned at Port Royal. He used charts and a chalkboard because he didn't have a book.
In March 1864, the first book for his new method was published. It was called The Phonic Primer and Reader. This book used a unique way of teaching English reading. It focused on the sounds of letters. This teaching method was very successful for adults. His work became known as the Port Royal Experiment.
Later Life and Inventions
In 1866, John Zachos became a Unitarian Minister. He also became a professor at the Meadville Lombard Theological School. He later taught at Cornell University in New York.
In 1871, he moved to New York City. He became good friends with Peter Cooper, who founded Cooper Union. John taught literature and public speaking there. He also became a professor and library curator at Cooper Union.
John Zachos was also an inventor. In 1872, he patented a medical device. It was called an "Improvement to Abdominal & Spinal Supporters."
He also worked with David Butler, who invented exercise equipment. Together, they wrote books about health and exercise.
In 1875, he patented a special typewriter. This machine could print English text very quickly. He continued to work on improving public speaking methods for many years. He supported the Delsarte System of Oratory and James Rush's The Philosophy of the Human Voice.
His lectures at Cooper Union were very popular. People like Peter Cooper, William Cullen Bryant, and Ralph Waldo Emerson admired his speaking skills. Bryant called him an "oratory genius."
John Zachos wrote about many subjects. These included philosophy, math, and science. He also wrote about money and economics under the pen name "Cadmus."
His wife, Harriet, died in 1896. John Celivergos Zachos passed away two years later, on March 20, 1898.
Literary Works
- New American Speaker (1851)
- Introductory Lessons in Reading and Elocution (1852)
- The Primary School Speaker (1858)
- The High School Speaker (1858)
- The Analytic and Phonetic Word Book (1859)
- Analytic Elocution (1860)
- The Phonic Primer and Reader, A National Method of teaching Reading by the Sounds of the Letters without altering the Orthography. Designed Chiefly for the Use of Night-Schools Where Adults are Taught, and for the Myriads of Freed Men and Women, Whose First Rush from the Prison-House of Slavery is to the Gates of the Temple of Knowledge (March 1864)
- Phonic Primer and Reader (1864)
- A Sketch of the Life and Opinions of Mr. Peter Cooper (1876)
- The Political and Financial Opinions of Peter Cooper (Edited by J.C. Zachos)
- An Address to the Merchants and Professional Men of the Country, without Respect to Parties (1878)
- The Fiscal Problem of All Civilized Nations (1881)
See also
- George Colvocoresses
- Garafilia Mohalbi
