Adolphus Egerton Ryerson

Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882), Canadian educator instrumental in establishing general free education in Canada. Ryerson was born near Vittoria, Upper Canada (now Ontario Province). The son of a colonel, Ryerson was educated at local schools and taught briefly before entering the Methodist ministry. At the age of 20 he became the first editor of the Christian Guardian and secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. Ryerson then began to campaign to secularize the Clergy Reserves (land set aside for the Protestant clergy) and to bring about other egalitarian reforms. In 1836 this resulted in Ryerson securing the first royal charter granted in Upper Canada to a non-Anglican institution, for the Upper Canada Academy in Cobourg, Ontario. In 1841, when the academy became Victoria College, Ryerson was its first principal.

The public school system of Ontario was established on the basis of Ryerson's Report (1846), which he published after studying the British and Continental school systems. By 1871 the goal of general free education had been reached, but Ryerson's plan to include the universities in this system was not realized until after his death. He was the first president of the General Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada (1874-1878) and was editor of the Journal of Education for 28 years.