Early Life and Education
Born near Hempstead, New York on Long Island, Truxtun was the only son of an English country lawyer. He lost his father at a young age and was taken to Jamaica on Long Island with relatives and placed under the care of a close friend, John Troup. Having little chance for a formal education he joined the crew of the British merchant ship Pitt at an early age of 12. Truxtun went against his father's previous wishes for him to pursue a career in politics and so at the age of twelve he left his home in Jamaica and joined the merchant Marine.
Read more about this topic: Thomas Truxtun
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or education:
“In the early days of the world, the Almighty said to the first of our race “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread”; and since then, if we except the light and the air of heaven, no good thing has been, or can be enjoyed by us, without having first cost labour.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I sought the simple life that Nature yields;”
—George Crabbe (1754–1832)
“I would urge that the yeast of education is the idea of excellence, and the idea of excellence comprises as many forms as there are individuals, each of whom develops his own image of excellence. The school must have as one of its principal functions the nurturing of images of excellence.”
—Jerome S. Bruner (20th century)