Educator and proponent of public schools, of Charleston, S.C., and elsewhere; born, 1870, in Grainger County, Tenn.; moved with his family as a young child to a frontier section of Arkansas, where he graduated from high school at Siloam Springs Academy. He taught for two years near Siloam Springs before entering Arkansas Industrial School (an institution now known as University of Arkansas). In 1890 he entered Peabody Normal College on scholarship and took his B.A. degree in 1892. At Tyler High School in Texas, he taught Latin and later was served as principal; Tate pursued graduate studies during the summers at University of Chicago and in 1900 was awarded an honorary Master's degree by Peabody Normal College. In 1898, appointed principal of Memminger Normal School (Charleston, S.C.) the first state normal school to be established in the South. During his tenure in Charleston, Tate was recognized for his efforts to develop a school library, revise curriculum, introduce domestic science and commercial subjects, and secure funds for a domestic science annex to the school. The annex, which was dedicated in 1908, was named in Tate's honor after his death. In 1909 he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of City Schools in Charleston; in 1910 Tate became the first person to serve as named State Supervisor of Elementary Rural Schools in South Carolina. In 1910 Tate became president of the South Carolina State Teachers' Association. In addition, he was a member of the State Board of Education from 1904 to 1910. Tate died of pneumonia at the age of forty-six in 1917.
From the description of W.K. Tate papers, 1894-1952. (University of South Carolina). WorldCat record id: 642058978
