Thomas Carr Howe

(Aug. 5, 1867-May 4, 1934). A native of Clark County, Indiana, Thomas Carr Howe moved to Indianapolis in 1889. He received a bachelor’s degree from Butler College (Butler University) in 1889 and an A.M. degree in 1893. From 1890 to 1892 he attended the University of Berlin and earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1899.

From 1890 to 1910, Howe was Armstrong Professor of Germanic Languages at Butler and was dean of the college from 1907 to 1908. In 1908, he became the college’s president, serving in this position until 1920. After his retirement, he became president of the Armstrong-Landon Hardware Company of Kokomo.

Throughout his career, Howe was active in local Republican Party politics. In 1905, he represented Marion County in the Indiana General Assembly. In 1921, he was an unsuccessful mayoral candidate and from 1921 to 1925 was vice president of the Indianapolis City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.

He served as president of the state Teachers Retirement Fund Board from 1921 to 1933. Howe was also director of the Indianapolis Water Company, member of the Board of Public Health, president of the Disciples of Christ Pension Fund (1932-1934), and president of the Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis (1933). In 1914, he helped sponsor the organization of the local Boy Scouts council and served as its first president until 1921. In 1937, Thomas Carr Howe High School was named in his honor.

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