Thaddeus L. Bolton
American psychologist (1865–1948)
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Through Germany, Rhythm and Intelligence
Early life and education
Bolton was born on July 27, 1865, in Sonora, Illinois, to William and Amelia Dortt Bolton. He attended Mount Morris Academy before enrolling at the University of Michigan at the age of 21. He received his A.B. degree from the University of Michigan in 1889. He then worked in school administration for a year before enrolling in the psychology program at Clark University, where his main mentor was Edmund Sanford. He received his Ph.D. from Clark in 1895, with what has been identified as the first Ph.D. thesis on a music education-related topic. This thesis also influenced Philip C. Hayden's subsequent musical teachings.
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Career
In 1894, Bolton began his first academic position at the Worcester Normal School, where he remained for one year. In 1895, he joined the faculty of San Jose State College, where he also remained for a single year. He then held stints at the University of Washington and several universities in Germany. In 1899, he returned to the United States to become an instructor at the University of Nebraska, where he became a professor in 1904. In the spring of 1908, he resigned from the University of Nebraska, and soon afterward joined the Tempe Normal School, where he founded and edited the Arizona Journal of Education. In 1912, he joined the faculty of the University of Montana as chair of psychology. He later joined the faculty of Temple University in the 1917–1918 school year, and was named the founding chairman of their Department of Psychology in 1924. He remained a professor at Temple until he retired in 1937, whereupon he became an emeritus professor there. In 1933, he was elected the first acting president of the Pennsylvania Association of Clinical Psychologists, now known as the Pennsylvania Psychological Association. He was a member of Sigma Xi and the American Psychological Association, among other groups.
Work
Bolton's research included studies on fatigue, rhythm, and intelligence, among numerous other psychological topics. He was quoted in the media speculating on the reasons for the popularity of newspapers and the prevalence of laughter among non-human animals.
Death
Bolton died on January 3, 1948, at Temple University Hospital. He was survived by his widow, Martha Louise Busse, as well as by a sister and a brother.