Paul Martin Pearson

Life & Legacy

Paul Martin Pearson (October 22, 1871 – March 26, 1938) was a college professor, author, editor of journals, a Quaker, and the first civilian Governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
Pearson was born in Litchfield, Illinois. He attended Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, for his Master of Arts degree. In 1907 he was listed as one of the co-creators of Lyceumite & Talent magazine along with Louis J. Alber.
In 1909, he obtained his doctorate at Northwestern University and did some teaching there, before moving to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and becoming a professor of Public Speaking at Swarthmore College. He wrote several books on public speaking and was an editor of the quarterly magazine "The speaker". He was also a major advocate of the Chautauqua movement in the US and founded the Swarthmore Chautauqua Association. Besides this he served as a speaker for the American Red Cross.
During World War I, he was responsible for the YMCA education programs in United States Army cantonments.
In 1896, he was married to Edna Rachel Wolfe Pearson (1874-1942), with whom he had four children, the oldest son being Drew Pearson, the well-known newspaper columnist and radio host.