John Strong (educationalist)


Prof John Strong CBE FRSE FEIS LLD was a 20th-century British educationalist. He was one of the creators of the Education Act 1918. Amongst other actions. This brought the many poorly-funded private Catholic schools in Scotland into state control.

Life

He was born in Barrow-in-Furness on 15 January 1868. He trained as a teacher at Westminster Training College then studied at Leeds University where he graduated MA around 1888.
In 1900 he became Rector of Montrose Academy.
In 1907 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir James Donaldson, John Horne, Frank W. Young and Cargill Gilston Knott. In 1914 he became Rector of the Royal High School, Edinburgh and saw it through the losses of the First World War. In 1918 he returned to his alma mater, Leeds University, as Professor of Education where he remained until 1934.
He died on 7 October 1945 in Eastbourne.

Publications

In 1899 he married Ethel May Dobson. Their son was Major General Kenneth Strong, famed for his role in British military intelligence.
His daughter Mildred Bond Strong married George C. McVittie.

Artistic Recognition

His portrait by Howard Somerville is held by the University of Leeds.