Michael Ernest Sadler
Encyclopedia
Sir Michael Ernest Sadler KCSI
(3 July 1861 – 14 October 1943) was a British
historian, educationalist and university administrator. He worked at the universities of Manchester
and Leeds
. He was a champion of the public school
system.
in the industrial north of
England
, died in Oxford
in 1943. He is the father of Michael Sadleir
.
His early youth was coloured by the fact that one of his
forebears, Michael Thomas Sadler
, was among the pioneers of the Factory Acts. His early memories were full of associations with the leaders of the working-class movement in the north of England. Remembering these pioneers, Sadler recorded: ‘I can see how much religion deepened their insight and steadied their judgement, and saved them from coarse materialism in their judgement of economic values. This common heritage was a bond of social union. A social tradition is the matrix of education’.
Sadler’s schooling was typical of his times. It gave him a diverse background, which was to be reflected throughout his life in his interpretation of the process and content of education. When he was 10 years old, he was sent to a private boarding school at Winchester
where the atmosphere was markedly conservative. Sadler recalls:
From this preparatory school he moved to Rugby
in the English Midlands
, where he spent his adolescence in an atmosphere entirely different from that of the Winchester school. His masters were enthusiastic upholders of Oliver Cromwell
and the Puritan Revolution. The young Sadler soon found himself in critical revolt against the Cavalier and Anglican traditions.
He went to Trinity College, Oxford
in 1880. There he soon came under the spell of leading historians such as T.H. Green and Arnold Toynbee
. But it was John Ruskin
who completely overwhelmed the undergraduate. Sadler has left on record how, in his second year at Trinity, a short course of lectures was announced, to be given in the Oxford University Museum by Ruskin. Tickets were difficult to get because of the popularity of the speaker. After a warm description of Ruskin’s picturesque appearance, Sadler articulates a favourite conviction when he writes:
That belief persisted to the end of Sadler’s life and is recurrent in his many analyses of foreign systems of education. When, in July 1882, the examinations lists were issued, Sadler had gained a first-class degree in Literae Humaniores
. A month earlier he had become President
Elect of the Oxford Union
, a field of public debating experience that has produced many an English politician.
from 1890–95. In 1895, he was appointed to a government post as Director of the Office of Special Inquiries and Reports, resigning from the Board of Education in 1903. A special professorship in 'History and Administration of Education' was created for him at the University of Manchester
.
He became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds
in 1911, where he now has a building named in his honour, and returned to Oxford in 1923 as Master
of University College, Oxford
where he continued to influence national educational policy, and promote the work of various modernist artists.
Using his personal links with Wassily Kandinsky
in Munich
, Sadler built up a remarkable collection of expressionist and abstract expressionist art at a time when such art was either unknown or dismissed in London, even by well-known promoters of modernism such as Roger Fry
. Most notable in his collection was Kandinsky's abstract painting Fragment for Composition VII, of 1912, a painting that was in Leeds and on display at the Leeds Arts Club in 1913. Sadler also owned Paul Gauguin
's celebrated painting "The Vision After the Sermon", and according to Patrick Heron
, Sadler even had Kandinsky visit Leeds before the First World War, although this claim is uncorroborated by other sources
With Frank Rutter
, Sadler also co-founded the Leeds Art Collections Fund
to help Leeds City Art Gallery. In particular the aim of the Fund was to bypass the financial restraints placed on the Gallery by the municipal authorities in Leeds, who had, in the opinion of Sadler, a dislike of modern art.
Towards the end of the First World War, the Secretary of State for India
, Austen Chamberlain
, invited Sadler to accept the chairmanship of a commission the government proposed to appoint to inquire into the affairs of Calcutta University. Chamberlain wrote: ’Lord Chelmsford [the Viceroy] informs me that they hope for the solution of the big political problems of India through the solution of the educational problems’.
After some hesitation, Sadler accepted the invitation. Under his direction the Commission far exceeded its initial terms of reference. The result was thirteen volumes issued in 1919, providing a comprehensive sociological account of the context in which Mahatma Gandhi
was campaigning for the end of the British Raj and the independence of India. From the lines of inquiry pursued, it is possible to deduce a conception of expanding higher education that goes far beyond the traditional university image in its search to relate higher education to the 20th century, with its increasing availability of educational opportunities to women.
Prior to the publication of the Calcutta University Report, Sadler delivered a private address to the Senate of Bombay University. He put forward his personal conclusions as he
surveyed The Educational Movement in India and Britain. It was a far-sighted address, characteristic of Sadler’s belief in the inter-relationship of all the various levels of education and the importance of teacher training. He warned his listeners about producing an academic proletariat with job expectations that could not be fulfilled. And finally he told the members of the Senate:
In 1919, Sadler was appointed a Knight Commander
of the Order of the Star of India
(KCSI).
of University College, Oxford
. He collected paintings and encouraged artists.
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
(3 July 1861 – 14 October 1943) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
historian, educationalist and university administrator. He worked at the universities of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
and Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. He was a champion of the public school
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
system.
Early life and education
Michael Ernest Sadler, born into a radical home in 1861 at BarnsleyBarnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
in the industrial north of
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, died in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1943. He is the father of Michael Sadleir
Michael Sadleir
Michael Sadleir was a British novelist and book collector.-Biography:He was born Michael Sadler, though upon beginning to publish novels he altered the spelling of his name to differentiate himself from his father, Michael Ernest Sadler, a historian and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds...
.
His early youth was coloured by the fact that one of his
forebears, Michael Thomas Sadler
Michael Thomas Sadler
Michael Thomas Sadler was a radical British Tory Member of Parliament , opponent of Catholic emancipation and leader of the factory reform movement...
, was among the pioneers of the Factory Acts. His early memories were full of associations with the leaders of the working-class movement in the north of England. Remembering these pioneers, Sadler recorded: ‘I can see how much religion deepened their insight and steadied their judgement, and saved them from coarse materialism in their judgement of economic values. This common heritage was a bond of social union. A social tradition is the matrix of education’.
Sadler’s schooling was typical of his times. It gave him a diverse background, which was to be reflected throughout his life in his interpretation of the process and content of education. When he was 10 years old, he was sent to a private boarding school at Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
where the atmosphere was markedly conservative. Sadler recalls:
Think of the effect on my mind of being swug from the Radical West Riding…where I never heard the Conservative point of view properly put, to where I was thrown into an entirely new atmosphere in which the old Conservative and Anglican traditions were still strong.
From this preparatory school he moved to Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
in the English Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
, where he spent his adolescence in an atmosphere entirely different from that of the Winchester school. His masters were enthusiastic upholders of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
and the Puritan Revolution. The young Sadler soon found himself in critical revolt against the Cavalier and Anglican traditions.
He went to Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
in 1880. There he soon came under the spell of leading historians such as T.H. Green and Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee was a British economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes.-Biography:...
. But it was John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
who completely overwhelmed the undergraduate. Sadler has left on record how, in his second year at Trinity, a short course of lectures was announced, to be given in the Oxford University Museum by Ruskin. Tickets were difficult to get because of the popularity of the speaker. After a warm description of Ruskin’s picturesque appearance, Sadler articulates a favourite conviction when he writes:
Nominally these lectures of Ruskin’s were upon Art. Really they dealt with the economic and spiritual problems of English national life. He believed, and he made us believe, that every lasting influence in an educational system requires an economic structure of society in harmony with its ethical ideal.
That belief persisted to the end of Sadler’s life and is recurrent in his many analyses of foreign systems of education. When, in July 1882, the examinations lists were issued, Sadler had gained a first-class degree in Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
. A month earlier he had become President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Elect of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
, a field of public debating experience that has produced many an English politician.
Career
In 1885, he was elected Secretary of Oxford's Extensions Lectures Sub-Committee, providing outreach lectures. He was a "student" (the equivalent of a fellow) at Christ Church, OxfordChrist Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
from 1890–95. In 1895, he was appointed to a government post as Director of the Office of Special Inquiries and Reports, resigning from the Board of Education in 1903. A special professorship in 'History and Administration of Education' was created for him at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
.
He became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
in 1911, where he now has a building named in his honour, and returned to Oxford in 1923 as Master
Master (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
of University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
where he continued to influence national educational policy, and promote the work of various modernist artists.
Leeds Arts Club
Whilst in Leeds Sadler became President of the avant-garde modernist cultural group the Leeds Arts Club. Originally founded in 1903 by Alfred Orage, the Leeds Arts Club was an important meeting ground for radical artists, thinkers, educationalists and writers in Britain, and had strong leanings to the cultural, political and theoretical ideas coming out of Germany at this time.Using his personal links with Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Sadler built up a remarkable collection of expressionist and abstract expressionist art at a time when such art was either unknown or dismissed in London, even by well-known promoters of modernism such as Roger Fry
Roger Fry
Roger Eliot Fry was an English artist and art critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developments in French painting, to which he gave the name Post-Impressionism...
. Most notable in his collection was Kandinsky's abstract painting Fragment for Composition VII, of 1912, a painting that was in Leeds and on display at the Leeds Arts Club in 1913. Sadler also owned Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, print-maker, ceramist, and writer...
's celebrated painting "The Vision After the Sermon", and according to Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron , was an English painter, writer and designer, based in St. Ives, Cornwall.- Early life :...
, Sadler even had Kandinsky visit Leeds before the First World War, although this claim is uncorroborated by other sources
With Frank Rutter
Frank Rutter
Francis Vane Phipson Rutter was a British art critic, curator and activist.In 1903, he became art critic for The Sunday Times, a position which he held for the rest of his life...
, Sadler also co-founded the Leeds Art Collections Fund
Leeds Art Collections Fund
The Leeds Art Collections Fund or LACF has been supporting the visual arts in Leeds since 1912. Founded by Frank Rutter, who was Director of the Leeds City Art Gallery at the time, with the support of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, Michael Sadler, the LACF was established to...
to help Leeds City Art Gallery. In particular the aim of the Fund was to bypass the financial restraints placed on the Gallery by the municipal authorities in Leeds, who had, in the opinion of Sadler, a dislike of modern art.
The Sadler Commission
In 1917 to 1919, Sadler led the 'Sadler Commission' which looked at the state of Indian Education.Towards the end of the First World War, the Secretary of State for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Austen Chamberlain
Austen Chamberlain
Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain.- Early life and career :...
, invited Sadler to accept the chairmanship of a commission the government proposed to appoint to inquire into the affairs of Calcutta University. Chamberlain wrote: ’Lord Chelmsford [the Viceroy] informs me that they hope for the solution of the big political problems of India through the solution of the educational problems’.
After some hesitation, Sadler accepted the invitation. Under his direction the Commission far exceeded its initial terms of reference. The result was thirteen volumes issued in 1919, providing a comprehensive sociological account of the context in which Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
was campaigning for the end of the British Raj and the independence of India. From the lines of inquiry pursued, it is possible to deduce a conception of expanding higher education that goes far beyond the traditional university image in its search to relate higher education to the 20th century, with its increasing availability of educational opportunities to women.
Prior to the publication of the Calcutta University Report, Sadler delivered a private address to the Senate of Bombay University. He put forward his personal conclusions as he
surveyed The Educational Movement in India and Britain. It was a far-sighted address, characteristic of Sadler’s belief in the inter-relationship of all the various levels of education and the importance of teacher training. He warned his listeners about producing an academic proletariat with job expectations that could not be fulfilled. And finally he told the members of the Senate:
And in India you stand on the verge of the most hazardous and inevitable of adventures—the planning of primary education for the unlettered millions of a hundred various races. I doubt whether the European model will fit Indian conditions. If you want social dynamite, modern elementary education of the customary kind will give it to you. It is the agency that will put the masses in motion. But to what end or issue no one can foretell.
In 1919, Sadler was appointed a Knight Commander
Knight Commander
Knight Commander is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant . The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name...
of the Order of the Star of India
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...
(KCSI).
Later life
From 1923 to 1934, Sadler served as MasterMaster (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
of University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. He collected paintings and encouraged artists.
Sources
- The text above calls freely on the text published by UNESCO below which "may be reproduced free of charge as long as acknowledgement is made of the source."