Historic Overview

Herbert Priestley was born May 29th, 1913, in Bradford, England. He attended the University of Leeds, where he received his Bachelor of Science in 1993 and a Ph.D. in physics in 1935. After working at the Woolen Industries Research Station in Leeds for three years, Priestley decided to pivot toward education. He originally planned to work as a high school teacher but quickly enlisted as a civilian educational officer in the Royal Air Force(RAF) before the onset of the Second World War. Priestley believed that there was going to be a war in Europe and that “Hitler was getting much too big for his boots and britches and somebody had to stop him.”³ In January 1939, the RAF requested all civilian education officers to enlist in the volunteer reserve, where Priestley became a military intelligence officer. By August 1939, he was called to active duty and participated in the Battle of London, where he was responsible for the defense of London and southeastern England. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States requested RAF assistance in developing its own Air Intelligence school. Priestley was then assigned as an RAF liaison officer to the American Air Force’s Air Intelligence School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1941, where he was stationed for two years. In 1944, he received his final assignment as an RAF liaison officer to the Director of Intelligence, War Department, at the Pentagon, where his unit prepared daily “for your eyes only” intelligence summaries for President Truman and top military personnel. By the end of the war, Priestley had been awarded the Order of the British Empire by the United Kingdom and the Legion of Merit by the United States Military. ⁴

Priestley never returned to England. Most of his family had died during the war, and he had come to enjoy life in the United States. After gaining U.S. citizenship, Priestley returned to his chosen profession—teaching. He spent six years teaching at Ripon University before accepting a position as the Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Physics at Knox College in 1952. He remained until his forced retirement in 1980. During his tenure, Priestley wrote numerous articles and textbooks, including his book Introductory Physics, which he wrote to emphasize the importance of science for students pursuing other areas of study. Priestley believed science was a fundamental part of a true liberal arts education. ⁵

“There are sounds reasons why all students, whatever their intended profession or avocation, be required to study some science. An understanding of science is as important to the business man, the lawyer, the statesman or anyone else as is an understanding of language or literature or of political or military history. Our future rests not so much upon the number of engineers and scientists we produce each year as it does upon the intellectual and cultural climate in which all of us live and work.”⁶

—Herbert Priestley

Despite his retirement from Knox, Priestley did not retire from teaching. Herbert Priestley went on to establish the Physics department at Carl Sandburg College (CSC) when he was hired for a 3/4th-time position for the 1984—1985 school year. While teaching at CSC, Priestley also began teaching at Hill Correctional Center for both Carl Sandburg College and Roosevelt University. Priestley retired from active teaching in 1998 but continued to work on education projects. Herbert Priestley remained in Galesburg until his death on October 13, 2005.⁷

While Priestley did not teach at Hill Correctional for Knox College, his impact as an educator on his students is evident. Information on his work at Henry Hill is not noted in the Knox College archives, so it is unclear what form his work took. It is also unclear whether his curriculum granted men on the inside credits for their respective universities or if Priestley operated under a GED framework. However, he serves as an early example of a former Knox faculty member becoming involved with Hill Correctional.

“‘Every potential scholar and scientist who is denied the opportunity for higher educational development will make mankind that much poorer. An oil field or a mine, which is not exploited right now, will be there in the future. But every youth born with great potentials, who is never awakened to intellectual adventure and adequate education is a priceless resource lost forever to society.'”⁸

—Herbert Priestley