Edward Howard Griggs was an American academic, author, and public lecturer who dedicated his career to the fields of ethics and philosophy. Born in Owatonna, Minnesota, in 1868, Griggs spent his formative years attending public schools in Madison, Indiana. He pursued higher education at Indiana University, graduating in 1889, which laid the foundation for his subsequent academic and public-speaking career.
Shortly after his graduation, Griggs entered academia, serving as an assistant professor of ethics at Stanford University from 1891 to 1899. Following his tenure at Stanford, he transitioned into a highly active career on the public lecture circuit. Griggs became widely recognized for his prolific speaking engagements, later estimating that he delivered more than 13,000 lectures over the course of his lifetime, addressing diverse audiences on ethical and philosophical topics.
In addition to his extensive lecturing, Griggs continued his academic pursuits in New York. By 1940, he was serving as a professor in the philosophy department at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, an institution now known as the Brooklyn Museum. Griggs remained an active intellectual figure until his death on June 6, 1951, in Fairfax, Virginia, leaving behind a legacy defined by his commitment to public education and philosophical discourse.
