Early life and ancestors Ladd was born in
Painesville, Ohio, on January 19, 1842, the son of Silas Trumbull Ladd and Elizabeth Williams. He was a grandson of Jesse Ladd and Ruby Brewster, who were among the original pioneers in
Madison,
Lake County, Ohio. Ruby was a granddaughter of Oliver Brewster and
Martha Wadsworth Brewster, a poet and writer, and one of the earliest American female literary figures. He was a descendant of Elder
William Brewster (c. 1567 – April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the
Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the
Mayflower, and
Governor William Bradford (1590–1657) of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the
Mayflower. He was also a seventh generation direct lineal descendant of Daniel Ladd, Sr. (1613–1693).
Education He early gave indications of the studious habits that characterized him through life. When he was eight years old his first savings, two dollars, were spent for a copy of Josephus and Plutarch, while when eighteen years of age he read
Kant's
Critique of Pure Reason. Most of his work in preparing for college was done by himself, only a portion of the time being given to the curriculum in the Painesville High School and at the college preparatory school of the Rev. Mr. Brayton in Painesville, Ohio. He graduated from
Western Reserve College in 1864 and from
Andover Theological Seminary in 1869. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry on May 26, 1870. The degree of
Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DD,
Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) was conferred on him by Western Reserve College in 1879; Yale University that of M.A. in 1881, Western Reserve College that of LL.D. in 1895, and
Princeton University that of LL.D. in 1896.
Career After graduation, he went into business with his father. His constant studies, however, seemed to turn his steps naturally toward a higher institution of learning, with the result that in 1866 he went to the Andover Theological Seminary. In 1869, he was installed as the pastor of the Congregational Church in
Edinburg,
Portage County, Ohio, remaining here until 1871. In 1871 he began to preach at the Spring Street Congregational Church of
Milwaukee,
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, leaving in 1879. He was professor of intellectual and moral philosophy at
Bowdoin College from 1879 to 1881, and Clark Professor of
Metaphysics and
Moral Philosophy at
Yale University (a professorship that still exists) from 1881 until 1901, when he took charge of the Graduate Department of Philosophy and
Psychology. Ladd became
professor emeritus in 1905, and retired in 1906. During 1879 to 1882 he lectured on theology at Andover Theological Seminary, and in 1883 at
Harvard University, where from 1895 to 1896 he conducted a graduate seminar in
ethics. Between 1892 and 1899, at the invitation of the
government of Japan, he served as a diplomatic adviser and helped the cabinet under Prime Minister
Hirobumi Ito (1841–1909) to promote mutual understanding between Japan and the United States. He lectured at
Imperial University in
Japan in 1892 and 1899 (when he also visited Indian universities in
Calcutta,
Bombay and
Benares) and again from 1906 to 1907. The series of lectures he delivered in Japan revolutionized its educational methods; In 1899,
Emperor Meiji conferred the
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, which represents the third highest of eight classes associated with the award. Trumbull was again honored in 1907, this time with the
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, which represents the second highest of eight classes. He was the first foreigner to receive the honor in this class. He was a member of the
Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. Trumbull was a vocal advocate for
Japan's colonial rule over Korea. After Japan violently repressed the 1919
March 1st Movement peaceful protests in Korea, Trumbull published a number of articles in which he blamed alleged secret societies in Korea, radicals, and Christian missionaries for starting the protests. He argued that the protestors were deluded, that Koreans were uncivilized and incapable of self-governance, and that Japan was helping them. He was much influenced by the German philosopher
Hermann Lotze, whose
Outlines of Philosophy he translated (6 volumes, 1877) and was one of the first to introduce (1879) the study of
experimental psychology into America; the Yale psychological laboratory being founded by him during his time there from 1881 to 1901. In 1887, he published
Elements of Physiological Psychology, the first American textbook to include a substantial amount of information on the new experimental form of the discipline.
Marriage and family He married on December 8, 1869, at Bridgeport,
Belmont County, Ohio, Cornelia Ann Tallman, born August 26, 1842, at
St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio, and died on October 19, 1893, at
North Haven,
New Haven County, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Ellen Ryne and John C. Tallman, a well-known banker and business man of Bridgeport, Ohio. George and Cornelia were the parents of four children: • George Tallman Ladd (1871–1943), an
industrialist of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and an 1891 graduate of
Yale University. He was president and CEO of United Engineering & Foundry Company, the largest U. S. maker of steel mill equipment. The George Tallman Ladd Award, at the
Carnegie Institute of Technology is named after him. • Dr. Louis Williams Ladd, (1873–1955), was a doctor of internal medicine and professor of clinical microscopy at the
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He graduated from
Yale University in 1895 earning his
Bachelor of Arts degree, and he graduated with an
MD from
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1899. • Jesse Brewster Ladd, (1876–1882). • Elizabeth Tudor Ladd, (1882–1965), married Walter Aldrich Barrett. He married second, on December 9, 1895, Frances Virginia Stevens, born February 9, 1866, at New York City, the daughter of Dr. George T. Stevens and Harriet Weeks Wadhams. There were no children from the second marriage.
Death Ladd died on August 8, 1921, at New Haven, Connecticut. After cremation, half his ashes were buried in
Sōji-ji,
Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Japan, and a monument was erected to him. The remaining ashes were interred under a monument of the rising sun in
Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut.
Case Western Reserve University conferred his name on its post of 'Distinguished Professor of Psychology', to which
George Albee was appointed in 1958. ==Publications==