Edward Gardiner Howe was born in 1849 in Brookfield , Massachusetts . His family relocated to Chicago after several failed business ventures and eventually lost two properties , a farm and a family home , during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 . Howe returned to Massachusetts and studied at the Massachusetts Agricultural College in the early 1870s . He then became a science teacher and tutor for upper-class families such as the Burnhams and the Armors . He also authored two books about science education entitled '' Scientific Thinking ''
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Edward Gardiner Howe