Biography > Pupils of F. M. Alexander

James Harvey Robinson (1863–1936), U. S. historian and pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Robinson specialised in European history about which he wrote several works. He obtained his Ph.D. at Freiburg in 1890, and was Professor of History at Columbia University 1895–1919 and a founding member of the New School for Social Research in […]

John Dewey (1859–1952), American philosopher of education and pupil and supporter of F. M. Alexander.   Life John Dewey studied at the University of Vermont and at Johns Hopkins University. After two years as a high-school teacher he decided he was unsuited for teaching in primary or secondary education. He received his Ph.D. School of […]

Edward H. Owen (1919 – 2000), UK journalist, pupil of F. M. Alexander, and first editor of the Alexander Journal.   Edward Owen was a journalist who lived for many years in Guernsey. In 1965 he formed an agency specialising in travel and financial matters in Guernsey, and was the Financial Times offical correspondent for […]

Dr Mungo Douglas, Scottish doctor, who was an ardent supporter of Alexander and the Technique.   Life He became a doctor in 1921 and practised in Bolton for most of his life. He became a pupil of Alexander’s in about 1928 or 1929. His wife, Sydney, also had lessons and they became friends of Alexander’s.[1] […]

Raymond Arthur Dart (1893–1988), Australian-born anatomist and anthropologist. He was the originator of what is now known as the Dart procedures.   Life Dart, Raymond Arthur (1893–1988) was an Australian-born South African anatomist and anthropologist. He graduated in medicine at Sydney in 1917, and became Professor of Anatomy in Johannesburg in 1923. He achieved international […]

Lucy Mary Silcox (1862–1947), teacher and headmistress, and pupil of F. M. Alexander   Life Silcox took an M.A. in London and the Classical Tripos at Newnham College, Cambridge. She was Headmistress of East Liverpool High School in 1901 and of Dulwich High School from 1901 to 1908. In 1909 she became Headmistress of St. […]

Waldo David Frank (1889-1967), American novelist, travel writer and essayist, a pupil of F. M. Alexander, and who was first married to Margaret Naumburg and later Alma Frank.   Life Waldo Frank grew up in New York City, attended a college preparatory boarding school in Switzerland, earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale University, and then […]

Lawrence (Larry) Kelso Frank (1890–1968), US educator and child-development expert, and a pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Frank received a B.A. in economics in 1912 and worked as a systems analyst. In 1923 he became an executive for the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial foundation. He also worked for the General Education Board and […]

Friedrich Robert Donat (1905–58), English actor and a pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Donat made his first stage appearance in 1921, at the age of 16. From 1930 Robert Donat acted in London’s West End Theatres where he also worked briefly as a manager. He is known for several leading film roles, among […]

Arthur J. Busch (c. 1900–66), aka Michael March, was a US journalist, photographer, and a pupil of Alexander.   Life Arthur J. Busch was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was a drama critic for The Brooklyn Times and features editor of The Jacksonville Journal before he became city editor of The Brooklyn Citizen. Later […]

Ron George Brown (1911–55), British journalist, editor and pupil of F. M. Alexander. Ron Brown wrote an important summary of F. M. Alexander’s four books.   Life Ron Brown worked for Reuters, the Times diary, the Evening Standard ‘Londoner’s Diary’ and Associated Press. He also worked for the embryo United Nations in 1944. He was […]

Lily Brayton (1876–1953), British actress and pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Lily Brayton made her first appearance in 1896 and became famous for her performance in the rôle of Viola in Twelfth Night in 1901 and as Yo-San in The Darling of the Gods in 1903 or 1904. In 1898 she married the […]

Percy Hugh Boomer (1885-1949), golfer and pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Percy Boomer and his brother Aubrey Boomer (b.1897) were professional British golfers and won several championships in the 1920s. According to Wikipedia: ‘Boomer was one of the top teachers of golf in Europe and spent the majority of his professional career at […]

Robert Dudley Best (1892-1984), British businessman and pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Best inherited his family brass founder business, Best & Lloyd, known for their lamps and chandeliers (they invented the ‘Surprise’ pendant in 1893 which was the forerunner of today’s angle-poise lamp). Best wrote a biography of his father, R. H. Best […]

Philip Boswood Ballard (1865–1950), Scottish headmaster, author and Inspector of Schools, and pupil of F. M. Alexander.   Life Philip Boswood Ballard, British Inspector of Schools, Doctor of Literature and author. Boswood was Headmaster of Pupil Teachers’ School, Tondu, Glamorgan, 1898–1903, before he became an Inspector of Schools: in Glamorgan 1903–05, and then with the […]

Dr Charles Bage (1859–1930), Australian doctor who was Alexander’s doctor in the early 1890s.   Life Dr Charles Bage (1859–1930). He obtained his medical degree in 1881 and became doctor of medicine in 1884. He ran a private practice in South Yarra, Melbourne, until 1923 and retired in 1925. Dr Bage was a founding member […]