William T. Harris was a philosopher and educator. He was co-founder of the St. Louis Philosophical Society in 1866 and, perhaps, Missouri’s most influential intellectual from 1857 through 1880. He “headed the administration of the St. Louis public schools (1866–1880) and provided the organizing force behind the St. Louis Movement in philosophy, education, and civic activism.” [Christensen, et al., eds. Dictionary of Missouri Biography, p. 379].