Topic: Melvil Dewey

Melville Louis Kossuth (Melvil) Dewey (December 10, 1851–December 26, 1931) was an American librarian and educator, and the inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification system of library classification.

Dewey was born in Adams Center in Jefferson County, New York. He attended Amherst College, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (Sigma chapter). He graduated in 1874 with a bachelor's degree and received a master's degree from Amherst in 1877.

Dewey was assistant librarian at Amherst from 1874 until 1876. In 1876 he left for Boston. From 1883 to 1888 he was chief librarian at Columbia University, and from 1888 to 1906 director of the New York State Library. From 1888 to 1900 was also secretary and executive officer of the University of the State of New York. In 1895 Dewey founded with his wife Annie the Lake Placid Club at Lake Placid. He and his son Godfrey had been active in arranging the Winter Olympics - he was chairman of the New York State Winter Olympics Committee. In 1926 he came to Florida and established a southern branch of the Lake Placid Club. He died at Lake Placid, Florida.