Kirsten Anderson - Who Was Milton Bradley?

Milton Bradley was born on November 8, 1836, in Vienna, Maine. His parents were Lewis and Fannie Bradley. Lewis was a carpenter and a factory worker.

The Bradleys never had much money, but they were a close, happy family. They were very religious. They went to church on Sundays and did not drink, dance, go to the theater, or gamble. But they believed in having other kinds of fun. They spent their evenings reading together and playing games like checkers or chess.

Miltons parents were very involved in his education. When Milton was still quite young, he didnt understand how to add or subtract. Lewis put six bright red apples on the kitchen table. He asked Milton to count them. Milton counted six. Then Lewis took away two apples. He asked Milton to count them now. Milton counted four. Lewis put back the two apples. Now there were six again.

Checkers

Checkers is one of the worlds oldest known games. Boards that look like checkerboards have been found in ancient ruins in Mesopotamia (now Iraq and Kuwait). Scientists have dated them back to 3000 BC. An Egyptian version of the game, using a twenty-five-square board, dates from 1400 BC.

In AD 1100, French players began playing on the sixty-four-square checkerboard we use today. In England, the game was known as draughts (say: drafts), but Americans have always called it checkers. The first checkers championship was held in 1847 in Scotland.

Suddenly, Milton understoodthe numbers in the math problem in front of him represented real things that you could count, put together, or take away. Using the shiny apples made all the difference for him. He thought this was a wonderful way to learn. Milton always remembered how his father helped him understand math by using apples.

When Milton was eleven years old, the family moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, so Lewis could take a job in a cotton factory. Milton attended the Lowell Grammar School and immediately became best friends with a boy named George Tapley. Milton was a serious boy. George was happy and cheerful. He could always make Milton laugh. They were a perfect pair.

Milton had a talent for drawing and decided that he would study art at the Lawrence Scientific School when he finished high school. Milton didnt have enough money for Lawrence when he graduated from high school, so he went to work. He got a job in the office of a draftsmana person who drew plans to build machines.

Milton earned extra money by taking a job selling paper, pens, and ink. Lowell was famous for its busy factories, and many people traveled far from home to find work there. That meant they all wanted to write letters home as often as they could. At night, Milton went to the boardinghouses where the factory workers lived, asking if anyone wanted to buy paper and pens. Milton was very successful. He wrote in his diary that the female factory workers bought more from him than the other salesmen because they thought he was funny and clever.