I requested the gentlemen to put on their hats, and the ladies their shawls, to avoid catching cold, and then had the windows widely opened. This proceeding caused some astonishment and alarm at first; for the Americans generally have a dread of cold air.

His attitudes were supported by William Jolly an inspector of schools and noted by Frank Pierrepont Graves in connection with Spencer and T. The actual form of education set up by Combe was later regarded as "transient" though as a propagandist of general educational ideas he was more effective. He initiated a programme of public education about chemistry physiology history and moral philosophy.

George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish lawyer and writer on phrenology and education. In later years he devoted himself to the promotion of phrenology and founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820.