McCormack, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph), 1865-1932

Thomas J. McCormack was born in 1865 in Brooklyn. He graduated from Princeton University in 1884. He continued his education in Germany, where he studied history, political science, and the modern languages. After returning to the United States, he studied law and received his L.L.B. degree from the Chicago Law School. In 1888, McCormack began working at the Open Court Publishing Company. At first his work consisted of translating works from French and German. His most noteworthy translation is that of Mach's Science of Mathematics, due to the difficulty of the subject matter. In 1903, McCormack was elected Principal of the LaSalle-Peru Township High School, and in 1924 he was made Director of the LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College. In 1923 McCormack organized a student personnel department, the Bureau of Educational Counsel. The Bureau was staffed by two full-time counselors trained in psychiatric social case work and a secretary, but received cooperation from the community psychologists and physicians. This bureau was the first to be established in a public school, and similar bureaus have since been established across the country. McCormack wrote many articles on educational subjects for national and technical journals and was well known as a speaker. He was given the honorary degree of Master of Science by Princeton University in 1919, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Northwestern University in June, 1930. McCormack died on June 24, 1932.

From the description of Selected papers of Thomas J. McCormack, 1919-1928. (Southern Illinois University). WorldCat record id: 301601745