Stephen Sheldon Colvin (1869-1923), professor of educational psychology, was born in Phenix, Rhode Island, on March 29, 1869. He prepared for college at Worcester Academy and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor of philosophy degree in 1891. He was awarded a master of arts degree upon examination in 1894. During these years of study he also reported for the Providence Journal and the Evening Telegram and taught rhetoric at Brown from 1892 until 1895, when he went to study at the Universities of Berlin and Strasburg. His thesis for his Ph.D. at Strasburg in 1897 was Schopenhauer’s Doctrine of the Thing-in-Itself and his Attempt to Relate it to the World of Phenomena. He taught English at Worcester Academy from 1897 to 1901, and continued his studies under G. Stanley Hall at Clark University, becoming interested in educational psychology. From 1901 to 1903 he was assistant professor of psychology at the University of Illinois. He returned to Brown for one year as assistant professor of philosophy before his return to the University of Illinois, where in due time he became head of the department of psychology. When he came back to Brown in 1912 he was the first professor of educational psychology. In 1919 he was also named director of the School of Education. He gained national recognition for developing intelligence tests and for disagreeing with Thomas A. Edison on Edison’s tests which were used to screen employees for manufacturing companies. Colvin introduced his tests to Brown, and according to his obituary notice in the Providence Journal, “His mental tests for students aroused much interest throughout academic America, and to his efforts along these lines Brown University owes its present position of being the institution which has had in operation mental testing in connection with educational guidance longer than any other college or university in the country.” He published
Source: Encyclopedia Brunoniana by Martha Mitchell, published in 1993 by the Brown University Library.
The papers of Stephen S. Colvin, which date from 1880-1934, offer a window into Colvin’s academic career, especially between the years 1900 and 1920. The heart of the collection, comprised of manuscripts and reprints of articles, documents his scholarship in educational psychology, both in published and manuscript form. The papers of Stephen S. Colvin are divided into seven series.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Stephen S. Colvin papers, AMS.1UF.2015.009, Brown University Library.
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Gift of Llewellyn John McGovern. They were found in the attic of Mr. McGovern's home which was owned previously by Stephen Colvin.
Books and articles written by Stephen S. Colvin available at Brown University:
File is comprised of: 1 partial letter from Mrs. Colvin on stationary from The San Diego Hotel, dated 1915, and two envelopes from the hotel, each with Mrs. Colvin's signature and postmarked 1915; and 2 letters from The Psychological Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., dated May 1st and May 13th, 1911.
File is comprised of: a letter (2 pages) from a Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Marshall, sent from Descanso, California, dated January 2, 1917; and one empty envelope, sender unidentified, from Cairo, Egypt, date unknown.
6 typescript leaves with handwritten edits; may be related to faculty/staff of University of Illinois, Urbana; presumably written (or co-written) by S.S. Colvin.
Untitled essay about emotion (primarily a list a definitions) comprised of 5 typescript leaves on University of Illinois stationary, presumably written by S.S. Colvin.
Co-written with F.K.W. Drury; consists of 10 typescript leaves with handwritten notations and edits.
Essay comprised of14 typescript leaves with handwritten edits (about 4000 words), signed by Colvin in N.Y.C.
1 typescript leaf with handwritten edits from what appears to be a fragment of a work of fiction, presumably written by Colvin.
Essay comprised of 16 typescript leaves with handwritten edits signed by Colvin at the University of Illinois.
Article from unidentified journal, publisher and date of publication unknown, pages [517]-524.
Reprint from The American Journal of Psychology, dated July, 1900, [16] pages.
Article (co-written by Colin with I. F. Mey) presenting the findings of a study about the imagination of school children based on data drawn from the anaylses of a sample of student essays; includes printed copy and photcopy; reprint from the The Pedagogical Seminary, Pedagogical Seminary, volume 13, issue 1, 1906.
Includes printed copy and photocopy; publisher and date of publication not identified.
Article from unidentified journal; publisher and date of publication unknown, pages [547]-561.
List of titles in this file: The Black Cat, by Edgar Allen Poe (N.Y.: Winthrop Press, 1914); A Description of the "New Deal," by Fred Rogers Fairchild ... et al. (N.Y.: Macmillan, 1934); Lincoln's Woman's Club (Univ. of Illinois?, date of publication unknown; Miami and the Story of Its Remarkable Growth: An Interview with Geoge E. Merrick (published by the New York Times, n.d.); University of Illinois Official List of the Administrative Officers and the Corps of Instruction of Urban-Champaign Departments, 1915-1916 (issued on October 9, 1915).
Monograph by Lewis F. Anderson, History of Common School Education (published by H. Holt in 1909); signed by Colvin.
1 bank statement (Industrial Trust Co., Providence, R.I.) ; 1 bill (Providence Telephone Company); and 1 receipt (from Samuel C. Jencks and Sons, Dealer in Ice).
2 short, 1-page, handwritten, grammar school essays by Sheldon Colvin.
Hand-written abstract, authorship uncertain, of a report by Lloyd Slote Dancey; mentions Clark University and Ellen Bliss Talbot.
Includes 1 tintype of unidentfied person (portrait of man) (circa 1880; 7/8" x 1) "; 1 tintype of unidentified couple (possibly S.S. Colvin and wife Eva Colvin), (circa 1895, 2 3/8" x 3 3/4)"; 1 photo of undentified person (woman with dog) (circa 1910, 3 1/2" x 3 5/8").
2 Illustrated advertisements for: the Merchants and Miners Transportation Co. (1 page folded in half, n.d.); and the Yankee Doodle Store (1 page folded in half, n.d.)
Comprised mostly of vintage printed Christmas cards and 1 printed valentine card illustrated by R. F. Outcault (copyrighted 1903 by Raphael Tuck and Sons Co., LTD, N.Y.)
Set of joke cards (unillustrated, n.d.); instruction booklet for an Eastman Kodak camera (illustrated, n.d.); baseball ticket stubs (1922); an an illustrated bookmark (circa 1885) found in a book signed by S.S. Colvin (n.d., see folder 1.15, History of Common School Education).
Consists of 5 postcards.
Small metal arrow head about 2 1/4 inches in length.
"Inside Base Ball"(board game made of metal with spin wheel in center; color graphics of stadium scene; with 11 game pieces, cardboard box top for game pieces and dice; manufactured by Popular Games Co., New York City and patented Oct., 1911
Shallow bowl made of wood with the word "Bermuda" engraved on surface; with print of landscape affixed to center.
A color print (a valentine card), of African American of boy and girl, illustrated by Richard Felton Outcault, (published by Raphael Tuck and Sons, in 1903).
A blank record book, with color illustration on cover, entitled "My Victrola Records"
Made of wood, thin, approximately 18" long; with black markings; origin and utility unknown.
Wooden; printed on spool: "M. Heminway & Sons; size D..."