# Carl Harstrom

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{{Short description|American educator and mayor}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name        = Carl Axel Harstrom
| image       =
| caption     = 
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1863|12|20}}<ref name="mom">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Wcq4MPTDrEIC&pg=PA292 Men of Mark] {{PD-notice}}</ref>
| birth_place = [Västerås](/source/V%C3%A4ster%C3%A5s), [Sweden](/source/Sweden)<ref name="mom"/>
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1926|01|24|1863|12|20}}<ref name="obit">[http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2015/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat%201926/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat%201926%20-%200447.pdf Obituary - Mrs. Lee Selden Harstrom]</ref>
| death_place = [Norwalk](/source/Norwalk%2C_Connecticut), [Connecticut](/source/Connecticut)<ref name="obit"/>
| office      = Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut
| order       = 16th
| term_start  = October 13, 1915<ref name="hd">[http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2015/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat%201915/Peekskill%20NY%20Highland%20Democrat%201915%20-%200500.pdf The Highland Democrat]</ref>
| term_end    = 1917
| predecessor = [Francis Irwin Burnell](/source/Francis_Irwin_Burnell)
| successor   = [Jeremiah Donovan](/source/Jeremiah_Donovan)
| party       = [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States))
| alma_mater  = [Peekskill Military Academy](/source/Peekskill_Military_Academy) (1880)<br/>[Hobart College](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges) (A.B., 1886; M.A., 1889)<ref name="sh">[https://books.google.com/books?id=w94SAAAAIAAJ&dq=Carl+Axel+Harstrom&pg=PA16 The Shield]</ref><br/>[Yale College](/source/Yale_University) (1899, PhD.)<ref name="mom"/>
| occupation  = educator
| spouse      = Lee Selden Partridge<ref name="mom"/>(d . August 27, 1926)<ref name="obit"/>
| children    = Frances (b. 1890), Carl Eric (b. 1892)<ref name="mom"/> 
}}

'''Carl Axel Harstrom''' (December 20, 1863 – January 24, 1926) was an American [educator](/source/Education), and one-term [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) [mayor](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Norwalk%2C_Connecticut) of [Norwalk, Connecticut](/source/Norwalk%2C_Connecticut), from 1915 to 1917.

== Early life and family ==
Harstrom was born in [Västerås](/source/V%C3%A4ster%C3%A5s), [Sweden](/source/Sweden).<ref name="mom"/> He was the son of Carl Gustaf and Amelia Adolphina Fosberg Harstrom.<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc">[http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/samuel-hart/encyclopedia-of-connecticut-biography-genealogical-memorial-representative-cit-tra/page-42-encyclopedia-of-connecticut-biography-genealogical-memorial-representative-cit-tra.shtml  Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens; (Volume 11).]</ref> His father was a manufacturer in Sweden who brought his family to America in 1872, when Carl Axel was nine years of age.<ref name="mom"/> He attended the [Peekskill Military Academy](/source/Peekskill_Military_Academy), and graduated in 1880.<ref name="mom"/> He taught school for two years before entering [Hobart College](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges).<ref name="mom"/> He graduated as [valedictory](/source/valedictorian) orator<ref name="sh"/> and with [magna cum laude](/source/Latin_honors) honors.<ref name="mom"/> He earned an A.B in 1886, and an M.A. in 1889.<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/> He served as headmaster at the Peekskill Academy for three years, and principle of [Vienland Preparatory School](/source/Vienland_Preparatory_School) for four years.<ref name="mom"/> On June 20, 1888, Professor Harstrom married Lee Selden Partridge of [Phelps, New York](/source/Phelps%2C_New_York).<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/>

== Life in Norwalk ==
He moved to [Norwalk](/source/Norwalk%2C_Connecticut) in 1891 to take a position as headmaster of the Norwalk Military Academy.<ref name="mom"/> He started his own private preparatory school for boys in Norwalk in 1893.<ref name="mom"/>

While teaching and serving as headmaster, he also pursued his own education at [Yale University](/source/Yale_University)  in classical [Philology](/source/Philology) from 1896 to 1899. He earned his PhD in 1899.<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/> He was a member of [Theta Delta Chi](/source/Theta_Delta_Chi), and served as its national president for five consecutive terms.<ref name="mom"/>

=== Political career ===
In Norwalk, he served as a member of the Board of Estimate.<ref name="eoc"/>
In 1915, Harstrom was elected mayor of Norwalk and served a two-year term. During 
his term of office he reconstructed the financial system, with the result of making it more transparent to the public.<ref name="eoc"/> He is credited with introducing voting machines to Norwalk.<ref name="eoc"/> He is also credited for the many miles of hard pavement laid during his term.<ref name="eoc"/>

During the World War he was chairman of the local [draft board](/source/draft_board).<ref name="eoc"/> He was a founding board member of the Norwalk Savings Bank and of the Fairfield County Savings Bank.<ref name="eoc"/>

== Associations ==
* Member, [American Philological Association](/source/American_Philological_Association)<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/>
* Member, [Phi Beta Kappa Society](/source/Phi_Beta_Kappa_Society)<ref name="mom"/><ref name="sh"/>
* Member, [Yale Club of New York City](/source/Yale_Club_of_New_York_City)<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/>
* Member, Norwalk Club<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/>
* Member, Knob Outing Club of Norwalk<ref name="mom"/>
* Vestryman, Grace Episcopal Church<ref name="mom"/><ref name="eoc"/>
* President of the Grand Lodge, [Theta Delta Chi](/source/Theta_Delta_Chi)<ref name="sh"/>
* Member, Senior Warden, Master Mason (1917), Worshipful Master (1922), St. John's Lodge No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons<ref name="stj">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1898&dat=19220209&id=9OggAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k20FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1906,4603265 The Norwalk Hour]</ref>

== Awards ==
* [Valedictorian](/source/Valedictorian), Hobart College<ref name="sh"/>
* Horace White Essay Prize<ref name="sh"/>
* Junior Greek Prize<ref name="sh"/>
* Senior Debate Prize<ref name="sh"/>
* Phi Beta Kappa<ref name="sh"/>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=[Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut](/source/List_of_mayors_of_Norwalk%2C_Connecticut)|before=[Francis Irwin Burnell](/source/Francis_Irwin_Burnell)|after=[Jeremiah Donovan](/source/Jeremiah_Donovan)|years=1915–1917}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harstrom, Carl Axel}}
Category:1863 births
Category:1926 deaths
Category:American educators
Category:American philologists
Category:Connecticut Republicans
Category:Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni
Category:Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut
Category:People from Västerås
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Swedish emigrants to the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carl Harstrom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Harstrom) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Harstrom?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.