astronomy

George Morris Philips

George Morris Philips is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George Morris Philips rather than just read about it. In short: George Morris Philips (October 28, 1851 – March 11, 1920) was an American educator and academic administrator who was the longest-serving principal of West Chester State Normal School (now West Chester University of Pennsylvania) from 1881 to 1920. A professor of mathematics who taught at West Chester and Bucknell University, Philips also authored several textbooks, rewrote Pennsylvania's school code, and served as…

Key takeaways

George Morris Philips belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George Morris Philips to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George Morris Philips from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

George Morris Philips (October 28, 1851 – March 11, 1920) was an American educator and academic administrator who was the longest-serving principal of West Chester State Normal School (now West Chester University of Pennsylvania) from 1881 to 1920. A professor of mathematics who taught at West Chester and Bucknell University, Philips also authored several textbooks, rewrote Pennsylvania's school code, and served as president of the Chester County Historical Society.

Early life and education Philips was born in Atglen, Chester County, Pennsylvania, on October 28, 1851, to parents John Morris and Sarah (Jones) Philips. His ancestors had immigrated to Chester County from Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1755 and 1712, respectively. Raised on his family's farm, Philips attended Atglen High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts with high honors in 1871 and his Master of Arts in 1874. Both degrees were in mathematics from Bucknell University (Lewisburg University until 1886). He received his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Bucknell in 1884 and Doctor of Laws (LLD) from Temple University in 1906.

Academic career Philips worked as a professor of mathematics at Monongahela College (1871–1873), professor of higher mathematics at West Chester State Normal School (1873–1878), professor of mathematics and astronomy at Bucknell University (1878–1881), and principal of the West Chester State Normal School from 1881 until his death in 1920 (West Chester finally introduced the office of president in 1927). Student enrollment and campus infrastructure and capital grew substantially during his tenure. New buildings included an addition to Old Main (1889), a gymnasium (1890), the principal's house (1891), Recitation Hall (1892), the "Sanitarium" (1892), the "Model School (now Ruby Jones Hall; 1899), the Old Library (1902), Wayne Hall (1911), and more. In 1913, Philips faced charges of covering up inappropriate behavior by the school's steward, Harry S. Johnson, toward female staff and students. In the most disturbing such incident, the married Johnson impregnated a student, Ruth M. Wolfe, and paid her medical bills after an unsuccessful abortion before eloping with her. In September 1913, trustees voted to demand Philips' resignation, but protests by alumni and intervention by the State of Board Education restored him to office despite the scandal. Philips was dedicated to West Chester and declined offers of higher-profile employment, including the presidency of Bucknell University in 1888 and the position of Pennsylvania State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1899. Dedicated in 1927, Philips Memorial Building on the West Chester University campus was named in the principal's honor. This building houses the president's office, a concert hall, and the Philips Autographed Library of over 2,000 volumes collected by Philips and donated to the institution by his son in 1952. The George Morris Philips Society is a giving society for donors who include West Chester University Foundation in their estate plans.

Civic service Philips held no elected offices but assumed numerous civic and professional leadership positions. He served as president of the Teachers Association of Pennsylvania in 1891, vice president of the National Educational Association in 1894 and 1910, member of the college and University Council of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1911, trustee of Bucknell University, board member of the Bank of Chester County, vice president of the Dime Savings Bank of Chester County, board member of Chester Count Hospital, and board member of the American Baptist Publication Society. He served as president of the Chester County Historical Society from 1894 to 1920 and served as secretary of the state commission that rewrote the Pennsylvania School Codes between 1907 and 1911 (the legislature approved the revision in 1911). He subsequently helped guide the Pennsylvania Department of Education's acquisition of the state's independent normal schools, including West Chester.

Publications Philips authored or coauthored textbooks on arithmetic, astronomy, natural philosophy, government, and Pennsylvania.

Sharpless, Isaac; Philips, G. M. (1882). Astronomy for Schools and General Readers. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. OCLC 1827449. Sharpless, Isaac; Philips, G. M. (1883). Natural Philosophy. Lippincott's science series. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. OCLC 609857062. Philips, G. M. (1893). Elements of Civil Government in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. New York: Silver, Burdett & Co. OCLC 775852328. Philips, G. M. (1905). Nation and State: A Text-book on Civil Government. Philadelphia: C. Sower Co. OCLC 905792634. Philips, G. M.; Anderson, Robert F. (1912). The Silver-Burdett Arithmetics. Boston: Silver, Burdett and Co. OCLC 971727. Philips, G. M.; Anderson, Robert F. (1915). Course of study in arithmetic: for grades below the high school. New York: Silver, Burdett & Co. OCLC 646248279.

Personal life Philips married Elizabeth Marshall on December 27, 1877, and had two children: William Pyle Philips (born June 29, 1882) and Sara Elizabeth Philips (born February 16, 1887). He belonged to the First Baptist Church of West Chester. His brother was Pennsylvania representative Thomas J. Philips. After suffering a stroke six days earlier on the way home from a school dinner, Philips died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on March 11, 1920, at the age of 68. He was buried at Oaklands Cemetery.

References

External links Media related to George Morris Philips at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George Morris Philips

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George Morris Philips claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George Morris Philips before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George Morris Philips ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George Morris Philips

In research: George Morris Philips appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George Morris Philips in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George Morris Philips is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1851 births, 1920 deaths, 20th-century American mathematicians, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George Morris Philips outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George Morris Philips in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George Morris Philips means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George Morris Philips out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George Morris Philips in simple terms?

Why does George Morris Philips matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George Morris Philips?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George Morris Philips.