Before the 1840s, there was no such thing as free public school in most of America. If your family had money, you could attend a private school. If not, you might never learn to read or write. Horace Mann, born on May 4, 1796, spent his life trying to change that. Mann grew up poor in Massachusetts. He taught himself to read using books from the town library. After becoming a lawyer and then a state senator, he was appointed to lead Massachusetts's new Board of Education in 1837. Mann argued that democracy could not work if most citizens were uneducated. He believed that free public schools, paid for by taxes, were the only way to give every child an equal start. Mann pushed for professional training for teachers. Before his reforms, almost anyone could be hired to teach. He created the first teacher training schools in the United States, called "normal schools." He also argued that schools should teach reading and writing to every child, regardless of family wealth. Mann's ideas spread far beyond Massachusetts. By the time he died in 1859, free public education was becoming the standard across America.