Dr. Edwin Aston Strong was born in Ostico, New York on January 3, 1834. After completing an A.B. in 1858 and an A.M. in 1862 at Union College, Dr. Strong relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where in 1861 he was appointed principal of the "Stone High School," on the present site of the Junior High School. From 1862 to 1872 he held the position of superintendent of the Grand Rapids schools. In 1872 he was named head of the department of science in the Oswego Normal School in New York, a post he held for two years. He returned to Grand Rapids in 1873 as the principal of the high school, where he remained until 1885, when he became the head of the Physics Department of the Michigan State Normal College.

In addition to his teaching career, Dr. Strong served as curator of the Kent Museum for 18 years and explored the Indian mounds of the Grand River Valley area; he was a member of the state board of health in 1880. Dr. Strong was a charter member of the Michigan Academy of Science, and served as vice president of the National Educational Association for three terms, and served as president of the Michigan State Teachers Association and the Schoolmasters club of the Michigan Association of High School principals.

In 1916 Dr. Strong tendered his resignation due to poor health and was made Professor Emeritus of Physical Sciences.

Dr. Strong passed away in St. Petersburg, Florida on February 3, 1920.