Paul DeHart Hurd

Who was Paul DeHart Hurd?

Paul De hart Hurd was a Professor of Education at Stanford University.

Hurd wrote many books and monographs on curriculum development in the sciences, including the definitive 1961 work Biological Education in American Secondary Schools, 1890-1960. Hurd continued to publish as a professor emeritus and his recent books include Transforming Middle School Science Education and Inventing Science Education for the New Millennium, published respectively in 2000 and 1997. He also published more than 300 articles in the United States and abroad. His papers are archived in the Hoover Institution.

Hurd was born Dec. 25, 1905, in Denver and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Northern Colorado in 1929 and 1932, respectively. In 1949, he earned a doctorate in education from Stanford and joined the faculty in 1951 after teaching high school biology and science education for 22 years in Greeley, Colo., and at Menlo School and Junior College (now Menlo College) in Menlo Park. Hurd retired in 1971 but remained active in science education reform through the 1990s.