Boston Latin School: A Legacy of Notable Alumni
Founded in 1635, Boston Latin School (BLS) stands as the oldest public school in America, a testament to the enduring value placed on education in the United States. From its humble beginnings with a mere nine students, BLS has grown into a dynamic institution educating approximately 2,400 pupils drawn from all corners of Boston. Throughout its history, Boston Latin School has remained dedicated to its mission of providing a rigorous classical education to the youth of Boston, preparing them for leadership and service in the world. The school's enduring motto, "Vita Tua Sit Sincera" ("Let Thy Life be Sincere"), encapsulates the values of integrity, honesty, and authenticity that BLS strives to instill in its students.
The school's rich history is steeped in tradition, with public declamation being a part of the classical tradition from the colonial days. Discontinued for a short time, it was revived in the mid-1800s and has been a unique BLS tradition ever since. Students prepare four times each year and compete for a place in the final competition each spring.
The walls of the Auditorium display portraits of past headmasters and the names of alumni, a reminder of the school's history. Generations of BLS students have imagined their names among these historically significant alumni immortalized on the upper frieze. The lower frieze recognizes alumni whose volunteer and philanthropic efforts have ensured the prosperity of alma mater.
Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Boston Latin School boasts an impressive roster of alumni who have shaped the course of American history. Among its most distinguished graduates are five signers of the Declaration of Independence, a testament to the school's commitment to civic engagement and leadership:
- John Hancock: A prominent figure in the American Revolution, Hancock served as President of the Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Leaders in Politics and Public Service
BLS alumni have consistently risen to prominence in the realm of politics and public service, shaping policy and leading communities at the local, state, and national levels.
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Charles Francis Adams Jr.: Served in the Union Army during the Civil War and later became a railroad executive and author.
John Forrester Andrew: Represented Massachusetts in Congress from 1889 to 1893.
Elisha Cooke: A prominent figure in colonial Massachusetts politics, serving multiple terms as a representative in the Massachusetts General Court.
William Eustis: Served as Secretary of War under President James Madison and later as Governor of Massachusetts.
Pioneers in Arts and Sciences
Boston Latin School has also nurtured visionaries in the arts and sciences, individuals who have pushed the boundaries of knowledge and creativity:
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Benjamin Apthorp Gould: A renowned astronomer who founded the Argentine National Observatory.
Samuel Pierpont Langley: A physicist, inventor, and aerospace engineer, Langley made significant contributions to the field of aviation.
Leonard Bernstein: A conductor, film score composer, and pianist, Bernstein was one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: A poet, author, and essayist, Emerson was a central figure in the Transcendentalist movement.
Notable Alumni (Alphabetical Order)
The following is a list of notable alumni, showcasing the diversity of fields in which BLS graduates have excelled:
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- Samuel Appleton Browne Abbot:
- Charles Francis Adams Jr. (e.):
- John Forrester Andrew (e.): Representative in Congress (1889-1893).
- Gleason L. Archer Jr.
- Robert Auchmuty (e.):
- Walter Abijah Baker (e.): Rector, St. John
- John Ballantine (e.):
- Charles Inman Barnard (e.):
- John L. Bates (e.): Lawyer; Served in MA House of Representatives (1894 to 1899; Speaker 1897 to 1899).
- Waldron Bates (e.):
- Susan G. Bell
- Charles Beecher (e.):
- Jonathan Belcher (e.): Governor, Province of Massachusetts Bay (1730-1741), Province of New Hampshire (1730-1741).
- Jeremy Belknap (e.):
- Benjamin Bethune (e.):
- Edward Bliss Foote (e.): President, American Medical Association; Abolitionist; Author.
- John Bradford (e.):
- Thomas Gamaliel Bradford
- Charles Smith Bradley (e.):
- William Brattle (e.):
- Ebenezer Bridge (e.):
- Matthew Bridge (e.):
- Samuel James Bridge (e.):
- John E. Brooks (e.):
- Vincent R. Brown
- John D. Burt
- Joseph F. Cabral (1970)
- Arthur Tracy Jackson Cabot (e.):
- Godfrey Lowell Cabot (e.):
- Samuel Cabot (e.):
- Samuel Cabot (e.):
- Charles Calhoun (e.):
- William Barron Calhoun (e.):
- T. George свящ.: Legal Counsel for MA Governor Deval L. Patrick
- Charles J. Callanan
- William J. Campion
- Lee. J. Capasso: Major General, U S.
- J. William Henry Channing (e.):
- Paul Cushing Child (e.):
- Benjamin Church (e.):
- Henry Paston Clarke
- James Freeman Clarke (e.):
- John Clarke (e.):
- William Conant Church (e.):
- Rufus Wheelwright Clarke (e.):
- Richard A. Clarke
- William T. Cloney
- Charles I. Clough Jr.
- Cyrus Cobb (e.):
- Darius Cobb (e.):
- Francis (Holmes) Coffin (e.):
- Isaac Coffin (e.):
- John Coffin (e.):
- Thomas Coffin (e.):
- William Coffin (e.):
- William Coffin (e.):
- Marshall S. Cogan
- Saul G. Cohen
- Robert Coles: Children in Crisis: A Study of Courage and Fear; Advisor to President John F. Kennedy; Professor of Sacred Sciences, St.
- Michael J. Connor: Screenwriter, Producer; Author, Mr.
- Edmund C. Converse (e.):
- Elisha Cooke (e.):
- Elisha Cooke (e.):
- James Ivers Trecothick Coolidge (e.): Master, St.
- Samuel Cooper (e.):
- William Cooper (e.):
- Lester Warren Cornish (e.):
- Joseph Pitty Couthouy (e.):
- Katherine P. Crowley: Captain, United States Army (d. 1866.
- Joseph W. Cullen (1954): Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute; Consultant to Surgeon General
- C. Thomas Harrison Cummings (e.):
- Charles Dudley Daly (e.):
- Ira M. DeAguilar
- Lee A. Dellon
- Lowell S. Dillingham
- Thomas Dawes (e.):
- Thomas Dawes (e.):
- Raimundo de Ovies (e.): Dean, Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Episcopal; Rector, St.
- Paul A. Demers
- Lawrence S. DiCara
- Epes Sargent Dixwell (e.):
- Richard J. Dober
- Thomas Dongan: Member, Sovereign Council, Order of Malta; Knight Commander, Papal Order of St.
- E. P. Dutton (e.): Publisher; Founder, E. P.
- Harry J. Elam Jr.
- George Edward Ellis (e.):
- Ralph Waldo Emerson: Self-Reliance, Nature.
- Thomas Stanhope English (e.):
- William Erving (e.):
- E. Ethelbert Miller
- David Leonard Fagin (e.):
- Robert Fallon (1965): Co-founder, President, and CEO of Promontory Therapeutics LLC; Expert on Global Financial Markets; Former Chair and CEO of Korea Exchange Bank; Manager, Asia-Pacific region for J.P.
- John Fairfield (e.):
- Parris Thaxter Farwell (e.):
- Don W. Fietz
- Raymond H. Fitzgerald
- Eliot G. Folsom: Literary Critic, The New Yorker; Author, Lorenzo in Search of the Sun: D. H.
- Samuel Fayerweather (e.): 1732 Minister, St.
- Annette M. Finnegan
- John F. Fish
- John G. Flick
- Roger S. Foster
- Thomas Fletcher (e.):
- Thomas Flucker (e.):
- Samuel Foxcroft (e.):
- Nathaniel H. Francis (e.):
- Kenneth L. Freiberg
- Constant Freeman (e.):
- Nathaniel Langdon Frothingham (e.):
- Cheryl A. Frye
- James A. Garfield
- John Sylvester Gardiner (e.):
- Joseph G. Gareffa
- David A. Gay
- William Gibbs (e.):
- Steven A. Gillis
- Joseph Goldthwait (e.):
- George Goldthwaite (e.):
- Hugh Mackay Gordon (e.):
- C. Boyden Gray
- Peter R. Gray
- Moses Grant (e.):
- Adolphus W. Greely (e.):
- Benjamin Daniel Greene (e.):
- Francis Greene (e.):
- James Bradstreet Greenough (e.):
- Richard B. Hagle: Advertising (with J.M.
- William Mansfield Groton (e.):
- Joseph Hall (e.):
- Robert Bernard Hall (e.): Anthropologist; Linguist, Specialized in Native American Languages; Ph.D. Dissertation.
- George Bacon Harris (e.):
- Robert Orr Harris (e.):
- John King Hastings (e.):
- Maurice H. Heckscher (e.):
- Samuel Henshaw (e.):
- Frederic Hinckley (e.):
- Robert G. Hoffer: President, Robert G.
- Joseph F. Holland (e.):
- Charles Hale Hoyte (e.):
- Ryan Hughes: Public Servant; State Representative, FL; Former Mayor, Parkland, FL; Lauded for Extraordinary Local Leadership and National Advocacy in Aftermath of Mass Shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Feb.
- James W. Hummelsine (e.):
- Henry Greenough Huntington (e.):
- Samuel P. Huntington: Chief Justice, Court of Common Pleas.
- Antonino E. Iadarola
- Henry Jackson (e.):
- James Jackson (e.):
- Jonathan Jackson (e.):
- Joseph Jackson (e.):
- Constantine P. Cavafy
- Clifford B. Janey (e.):
- Austin W. Keane
- Dennis J. Keegan
- Harry V. Keefe Jr.
- Robert H. Kennedy: Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Boston; Rector, St.
- Joseph P. Kennedy III
- William Kneeland (e.):
- Philip J. Landrigan: Acclaimed Investigative Reporter; Former Editor / D.C.
- William L. Liller (e.):
- Roy E. Larsen
- T. Vincent Learson
- Norman B. Leventhal: Co-Founder/Chairman, The Beacon Companies; Award-Winning Developer, Rowes Wharf, Norman B. Post Office Square; Benefactor, Boston Public Library, Norman B.
- John Wesley Lindsay (e.):
- William Birckhead Lindsay (e.):
- Josiah Little: Professor of Chemistry, Dickinson College; Co-Author, Manual of Chemistry (with H.F.
- Warren Plimpton Lombard (e.): Athenaeum; President, Boston Manufacturing Company.
- Charles L. Long
- William F. Loomis
- William F. Low
- Charles Loring
- Samuel Henry Lunt (e.):
- Shelby R. Lyman: Educator; Syndicated Writer; Nationally Ranked Chess Master (No.
- Malcolm A. MacKay
- Herbert N. Maletz: Attorney and Judge; Nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson to the U.S. Court of International Trade. He served as a Lt.
- Seaton W. Manning: Army Air Force.
- Augustus Francke Mason (e.):
- James D. St. Clair: Discovering Justice, The
- Richard A. McGee
- Wade H. McCree Jr.
- Robert F. Meenan
- Edward F. Messinger
- John McLean (McLane) (e.):
- Thomas Melvil (e.):
- Theodore Aloysius Metcalfe
- Henry A. Miley Jr.
- Melvin B. Miller
- Merton H. Miller
- Jo (Joseph Jacinto) Mora (e.):
- Frederick T. Moore Jr.
- Clement G. Morgan
- William F. Morrill
- Godfrey Morse (e.):
- Hosea Ballou Morse (e.):
- Most Rev. Raymond D. Neary
- William Newell (e.):
- Samuel Newman (e.):
- Charles McIlvaine Nicholson (e.):
- Stephen Westcott Nickerson (e.):
- William North (e.):
- Thomas H. O'Connor
- Cleo A. O'Donnell: Head Football Coach, Purdue University, College of the Holy Cross, St.
- Iyeoka I. Okoawo
- Wilfred L. Plante (e.):
- Brindley Sylvester Oliver (e.):
- William Sandford Oliver (e.): Loyalist; Sheriff, St.
- Harrison Gray Otis: United States Senator (1817-1822); Representative in Congress (1791-1801); United States Attorney.
- Robert Treat Paine (e.): Signer, Declaration of independence; Member, Continental Congress; Governor.
- Robert Treat Paine: Philanthropist; President, Associated Charities; Great-grandson of Robert Treat Paine (e.
- William Palfrey: 2nd Lieutenant, United States Army (d.
- Thomas Willam. Parsons (e.):
- Ira Pastan (e.):
- Selim Hobart Peabody (e.):
- Henry Pelham (e.):
- Ebenezer Pemberton (e.):
- Ebenezer Pemberton (e.):
- Sir William Pepperell (e.):
- Thomas L. Phillips
- Richard G. Pizzano
- Frederic Henry Prince (e.):
- Frederick Octavius Prince (e.):
- John Prince (e.):
- William Prince (e.):
- J. Kevin Quinn
- Samuel Quincy (Quincey) (e.):
- Joseph A. Reardon: Introduced Modern Supermarket Concept; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stop & Shop (orig.
- Paul Joseph Revere: Surgeon, United States Army (d. 1842
- Paul Revere: Colonel, 20th Massachusetts Volunteers, United States Army (d.
- Frank Chase Richardson (e.):
- George Washington Richardson (e.):
- Ralph B. Rogers: Educator; 1st Professorial Appointment to the Dept.
- Hubert St. Pierre Ruffin (e.):
- John D. Runkle: Biologist; Professor; Vice President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute;
- Richard Saltonstall (e.):
- Frederick P. Salvucci
- Epes Sargent (e.):
- John Schouler (e.):
- Jeremiah Evarts Scudder (e.):
- Samuel Hubbard Scudder (e.):
- Norman Seaver (1850): Minister, Rutland, Vermont; Brooklyn, New York; Syracuse, New York; St.
- Harold B. Segel
- Jonathan Sewall (e.):
- Joseph Sewall (e.):
- Samuel Sewall (e.):
- Harry L. Shapiro
- Frederic Cheever Shattuck (e.):
- George Cheyne Shattuck (e.):
- George Russell Shaw (e.):
- Edward F. Sheffrey
- Lawrence E. Shapiro
- Nathaniel B. Shurtleff (e.):
- Lawrence R. Sidman
- Edward Emerson Simmons (e.):
- Richard B. Simons
- Joshua L. Smith: Chief, Leadership Development, D.C.
- Hamilton Sutton Smith (e.):
- Frank M. Snowden Jr.
- Abraham M. Sonnabend
- John Jones Spooner (e.):
- Edward Sprague (e.):
- Guy L. Steele Jr.: Common Lisp the Language, The High Performance Fortran Handbook (with C. Zosel), The Java Language Specification (with J. Gosling, B. Joy, G.
- Julian D. Steele (e.):
- Frederic Henry Stimpson (e.):
- Solomon Stoddard (e.):
- Alan A. Stone
- Archibald Morrison Stone (e.):
- Ebenezer Storer (e.):
- Horatio Robinson Storer (e.):
- William L. Story
- John Hubbard Sturgis (e.): 1845 Architect.
- Peter Thacher (e.):
- Peter Thacher (e.):
- Peter Oxenbridge Thacher (e.):
- Samuel Cooper Thacher (e.):
- Thomas Thacher (e.):
- Thomas Thacher (e.):
- Thomas Cushing Thacher (e.):
- Ebenezer Thayer (e.):
- Thomas W. Thurbide
- Herbert D. Tivey
- Augustus Clifford Tower (e.):
- James Trecothick (James Ivers) (e.):
- Benjamin A. Trustman
- Herbert W. Vaughan
- Charles Keating Tuckerman (e.): eponym: Mt.
- David S. Townsend (e.):
- Edward D. Townsend (e.):
- José E. Valiente
- Langdon Lauriston Ward (e.):
- John Fothergill Waterhouse Ware (e.):
- Jonathan Mason Warren (e.):
- Bertram Gordon Waters (e.):
- Edward Webster (e.):
- Charles Luke Wells (e.):
- Joseph H. Wellings: Home Fleet from the Diary, Reports, and Letters of Joseph H. Wellings, Assistant U. S.
- William Welsteed (e.):
- William Marcy Whidden (e.):
- Arthur H. Whitney
- Myra Sampson: First Female Ph.D.
- John Silas White (e.):
- Robert M. Whitten
- Theodore H. White (e.):
- George Whittemore (1853): Sergeant, United States Army (d.
- William Whitwell (e.):
- John Fremont Wilber (e.):
- Pelham William (e.):
- Francis Henry Williams (e.):
- Henry Willard Williams (e.):
- Nathaniel Parker Willis (e.):
- Richard Storrs Willis (e.):
- John Wilson (e.):
- Clifton Ellis Wing (e.):
- William Gustavus Woodward (e.):
- Bryant W. Woods: Justice, Superior Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Author.
Boston Latin Academy (formerly Girls' Latin School)
Boston Latin Academy (BLA) was established on November 27, 1877 as Girls' Latin School (GLS). The school was founded with the intention to give a classical education and college preparatory training to girls.
- Florence Fowle Adams
- Louise Bogan
- Edith Nason Buckingham (NG) - first woman to earn a Ph.D.
- Yvonne Young Clark
- Mary Caroline Crawford
- Eileen Donovan
- Mary Welleck Garretson
- Theodora Kimball Hubbard
- Ellen Jackson
- Carol Lawson
- Lucile Lord-Heinstein
- Natalie Walker Linderholm
- Maud W. Makemson
- Sarah Ida Shaw Martin
- Mary McGrory
- Barbara Miller Solomon
- Lorraine O'Grady
- Josephine Preston Peabody
- Vivian Rich
- Marie Mercury Roth
- Patti B. Saris
- Vida Dutton Scudder
- Barbara Henry
tags: #Boston #Latin #School #notable #alumni
