Edward A. Fitzpatrick was born in New York City, August 29, 1884. He attended New York City Training School for Teachers, then transferred to Columbia where he received his B.S. in 1906, his M.A. in 1907, and his Ph.D. in 1911. Dr. Fitzpatrick also received honorary degrees (Litt.D., L.H.D., Ed.D., and LL.D.) from seven Catholic Universities.
From 1903 to 1908, Dr. Fitzpatrick taught in the New York City Public Schools. Leaving this work to investigate state educational systems, he drafted the first minimum wage law for teachers in Wisconsin, in 1913. He remained in the state to take charge of Wisconsin's draft administration during World War I. In 1924, he became dean of the graduate school at Marquette University and educational director for its college hospital administration between 1924 and 1926. He was appointed president of Mount Mary College for Women, Milwaukee, and served in this capacity from 1929 to 1954, when he retired to the status of president emeritus.
Other administrative and military experiences of Dr. Fitzpatrick were as president of the Association of Presidents and Deans of Wisconsin Colleges in 1937; active duty as a colonel, from April 1942 to August 1945, in the Office of the Division of Selective Service, and after 1945 as advisor to the U.S. Director of Selective Service; and consultant on the Manpower, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, 1946. Among Dr. Fitzpatrick's foreign missions were a visit to France in 1945 as personal representative of the U.S. Economic Administration; guest professor and investigator of American studies in German universities at the University of Mainz, Germany, in 1951; and from 1956 to 1957, educational consultant at the Brazilian Center of Educational Research.
Edward A. Fitzpatrick was author of numerous books, among them: Educational Views and Influence of DeWitt Clinton, 1911; McCarthy of Wisconsin, 1944; Exploring a Theology of Education, 1949; LaSalle, Patron of Teachers, 1951; Great Books: Panacea or What?, 1952; Philosophy of Education, 1953; How to Educate Human Beings, 1953; and Criminology and Crime Prevention, 1958. He also edited many publications, such as the Catholic School Journal, 1929 to 1960; Highway to Heaven Series, including textbooks and teacher's manuals, 1931 to 1960; and several studies for the Selective Service in the 1940s.
Dr. Fitzpatrick was married in 1913 to Lillian V. Taylor, and had two sons. He died on September 13, 1960, in Washington, D.C. where he made his home.
