George W Wingate High School - Mosaic Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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If D! WHAT DUES THE W STAND F OR? A Short Biographical Sketch Of General George W Wingate 4a.afW George Wood Wingate was born in New York City on July 1, 1840. ln 1853, he graduated from P.S. 40 and enter- ed the Free Academy Know called the College of the City of New Yorkl. However, within a few months, necessity forced him to leave school to work as an errand boy in a local law firm.

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PRINCIPAL' MESSAGE Dr. Robert L. Schain Principal You have completed your high school education just as our nation has entered its third century of existence. Thus, your graduation from high school begins your own third stage of life --- from childhood to adolescence, and now, to adulthood. What you do from here on will depend largely on your own goals, resources, energy and fortune. A successful life depends on many factors, and your job is to combine all these factors to your best advantage. We have tried to provide you with the necessary tools to do this job --- the academic skills, the positive attitudes toward your fellow citizens, the knowledge necessary to function well in society and the ability to work with other people. We have done our best at Wingate. I hope you will continue to do your best in whatever you do in the future. I wish all of you the very best of luck and success.

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But George Wingate did not give up his education. During the next few years, he con- tinued his studies at night. He especially worked on his athletic training. Two nights a week, he practiced in a gymnasium. Wingate's interest in physical health is admirable. He was physically handicapped due to a severe burn in early childhood, but through hard, rigorous, persistent training, he be- came a man of unusally well-balanced physique. lVloreover, he was skilled in fencing, tennis, golf, gymnastics, boxing and wrestling. As a sportsman, he glorified in the great outdoors and was an expert hunter and a crack rifle shot. This love of athletics and sports George Wingate never lost. When civil war split the nation, he rendered conspicuous service to his country, serv- ing in the 22nd N.Y. Regiment as General George W. Wingate. ln later years, the General distinguished himself as a skillful lawyer, an active mem- ber ofthe Board of Education of New York, and a valued supporter of many recreational clubs and civic organizations. ln 1867, as an officer in the New York National Guard regiment, he formulated the rules for systematic rifle practice and made it a part of mili- tary instruction in this country. He was instrumental in organizing the National Rifle As- sociation of America in 1871 and was its president for 25 years. The General's greatest achievement was his helping to found the Public Schools Ath- letic League in 1903. He never lost his love for sports and strove continuously to spread the gospel of athletics and games as a means to sound health and good citizenship. To a young friend he wrote: Athletics teaches better than anything else promptness, quickness in emergencies, self-reliance, control of the temper, square dealing and determination - all those mil-ualities which will best enable you to bear yourself manfully in the great battle of i e. As president of P.S.A,L. the General worked hard to urge upon the Board of Education and local government officials the importance of providing more athletic fields, more ade- quate school yards, and more after-school centers. He rallied newspapers, athletic clubs, colleges, and universities to give their support to school athletics through trophies, awards, and scholarships. On lVlarch 22, 1928, General George Wood Wingate, lawyer, soldier, sportsman, and great civic leader, died. W