William Holmes McGuffey was an American educator and Presbyterian clergyman. He is best known for creating McGuffey's Readers, a series of textbooks that greatly influenced public education in the United States starting in the mid-19th century. Born in 1800 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, McGuffey moved to Ohio as a young man. He was a professor of ancient languages and moral philosophy at several universities, including Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and the University of Virginia. His Readers, which included lessons in morality, literature, and vocabulary, were used by millions of students and are estimated to have sold over 120 million copies. He passed away in 1873 in Charlottesville, Virginia.