George Trumbull Ladd

George Trumbull Ladd (January 19, 1842 – August 8, 1921) was an American philosopher, educator and psychologist who, in 1893, became the second President of the American Psychological Association.

Ladd was a vocal advocate for Japanese colonialism, including its colonization of Korea, and described Korean people as primitive and uncivilized.

Early life and ancestors

Ladd was born in Painesville, Ohio, on January 19, 1842, the son of Silas Trumbull Ladd and Elizabeth Williams.

He was a grandson of Jesse Ladd and Ruby Brewster, who were among the original pioneers in Madison, Lake County, Ohio. Ruby was a granddaughter of Oliver Brewster and Martha Wadsworth Brewster, a poet and writer, and one of the earliest American female literary figures.

He was a descendant of Elder William Brewster (c. 1567 – April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower, and Governor William Bradford (1590–1657) of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower. He was also a seventh generation direct lineal descendant of Daniel Ladd, Sr. (1613–1693).

Education

He early gave indications of the studious habits that characterized him through life. When he was eight years old his first savings, two dollars, were spent for a copy of Josephus and Plutarch, while when eighteen years of age he read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

Most of his work in preparing for college was done by himself, only a portion of the time being given to the curriculum in the Painesville High School and at the college preparatory school of the Rev. Mr. Brayton in Painesville, Ohio.