Thornton Occupations: Education

In our more than 250 year history in the United States, the Thornton family has produced educators in a wide variety of fields. Below, while not an exhaustive list, I name many relatives who have contributed notably to the education of more than 15 American generations:

Dr. William Patton Thornton: medicine, Dean of Medical School, Cincinnati;
William Wheeler Thornton: law; Dean of law school, Indianapolis;
Albert Marshall Thornton: general education, Cincinnati;
Larry Maurice Thornton: horticulture, Arkansas;
Dr. John Sparks II: Telecommunications, Alabama;
Dr. Claude and Dr. Clyde Gillett: Chiropractic medicine, Los Angeles;
Reyburn Alvin Higgins: High School Principal, New Jersey, Indiana, and Kentucky;
Mary E. Higgins Proffitt: general education, Indiana;
Dr. Maris Marion Proffitt: Industrial Education Specialist and Consultant, US Dept. of Education;
Helen Thornton Geer: Library Science, Rhode Island;
Diane L. Thornton Lewis: French and German, Kentucky;
Col. Robert Alexander Jackson: Air Science, Alabama;
Dr. Joseph Lyle Thornton: Principal, Cincinnati (pupil: William Howard Taft, US President);
Sir Henry Worth Thornton: College Football Head Coach, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville;
Richard Carlton Thornton: Communications, Public Relations, Kentucky;
Florinda Thornton Bunton: general education, Texas;
Elizabeth Thornton Burnett: general education, Indiana;
Charles William Lewis: Sociology, Kentucky and New York;
Durward Cory: School Superintendent, Indiana and Minnesota;
Rosemary A. Clement Hamrick: Principal, Texas;
Lauren C. Hamrick: 1st grade, Texas;
Candis Adams Thornton: Physics, Nashville;
Eugene Philip Cannon Jr: Associate Principal and Dean, Texas;
Jana Arney Hammock: School Administrator, Kentucky;
Dr. John B. Bender: English and Comparative Literature, Palo Alto, California.