Early Life and Education
Houghton was born in Troy, New York, the son of Jacob Houghton, a lawyer and later a county judge, and Mary Lydia Douglass. Raised in a close-knit, cultured home in Fredonia, New York, Douglass was a small person with a nervous, active temperament inclined toward the practical and scientific. He exhibited early his lifelong interest in the natural world, and in spite of a slight speech impediment and facial scarring from a youthful experiment with gunpowder he was at ease with all levels of society.
In 1829 Houghton entered the Rensselaer School at Troy, New York where, under the direction of Amos Eaton scientific training was emphasized, particularly in geology. That same year he received both the bachelor's degree and a teaching appointment in chemistry and natural history there. He also studied medicine with a doctor friend of his family and was licensed to practice in 1831.
Read more about this topic: Douglass Houghton
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“I taught school in the early days of my manhood and I think I know something about mothers. There is a thread of aspiration that runs strong in them. It is the fiber that has formed the most unselfish creatures who inhabit this earth. They want three things only; for their children to be fed, to be healthy, and to make the most of themselves.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“There are only two sorts of people in life you can trust—good Christians and good Communists.”
—Joe Slovo (b. 1926)
“I doubt whether classical education ever has been or can be successfully carried out without corporal punishment.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)