24 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



Yale University. He was a minister of the United Breth- 

 eren church and held pastorates at Arcanum and Dayton, 

 Ohio. He was president of Western College, Toledo, Iowa, 

 from 1881 to 1889, and at that time was one of the youngest 

 college presidents in the United States. He brought West- 

 ern College from an obscure institution to one of standing 

 among the colleges of the states. He was superintendent 

 of the city schools of Des Moines from 1889 to 1891, where 

 he displayed unusual executive abilities. To be a suc- 

 cessful city superintendent requires tact and ability of an 

 unusual kind, and he had both to a marked degree. He 

 was president of the Iowa State Teacher's Association in 

 1894; served a term on the executive committee of the 

 Iowa State Teacher's Association; was director of the 

 National Educational Association from Iowa for a number 

 of years, and was president one year of the Department of 

 Manual Industry and Training of that association; he was 

 president of the Iowa State Improved Stock Breeder's 

 Association in 1899, and delivered an annual address that 

 will long be remembered as a powerful one. In his deliv- 

 ery he displayed all of his powers of oratory, combined with 

 wit and wisdom. He was a member of the United States 

 Indian Commission since 1897; was juror on Educational 

 Awards at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, in 1901, 

 and president of the National Educational Association, 

 1901-1902. He died August 5th, 1902, at Ames, Iowa. 



One of his strongest addresses was delivered at the com- 

 mencement exercises at Ames in June, 1902. The same 

 month he delivered an address at Manhattan, Kansas, at 

 the National Educational Association. Dr. Beardshear 

 was the first president of the National Educational Asso- 

 ciation to come from the state colleges. He had worked 

 earnestly to extend the scope of this body, as well as the 

 association of agricultural colleges and experiment sta- 

 tions. In this body at the San Francisco meeting he had 

 a resolution introduced, which was carried, looking for 

 greater co-operation between the National Educational 

 Association and the state colleges. 



