About: Newton Bateman

Newton Bateman (July 27, 1822 – October 21, 1897) was an American academic, educational administrator, and editor from New Jersey. Raised in poverty, Bateman came with his family to Illinois at a young age then earned his way into Illinois College. After graduating, he again struggled to make ends meet before an anonymous donor sent him a large sum of money. He used it to establish a private school in St. Louis, Missouri. He was later elected superintendent of schools in Morgan County, Illinois, then served as Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction (1859–63, 1865–1875). He resigned to become president of Knox College. Late in his life, he published an encyclopedia of the state. Bateman was an associate of Abraham Lincoln and is the source of a controversial account of his religious