Worcester Academy
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Worcester Academy is an elite private preparatory school located in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School, it did not change its name until 1847. The school moved to its current location on Union Hill in Worcester in 1869. Worcester Academy was all-male from its founding until 1856, and again from 1890 to 1974. It has been coeducational since.
The school's motto is "Mηδεν εισιτω κακoν," loosely translated to "Achieve the Honorable." Worcester Academy is considered to be one of the most prestigious schools in the United States. Several beautiful brick buildings are listed on the national historic register including the Kingsley Laboratories, Walker Hall, Adams Hall, and Dexter Hall. One of the most famous and remarkable architectural buildings on the campus is the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater, a gift from Warner Brothers Studio President Harry Warner. He generously donated this building in memory of his son Lewis '28, who died shortly after graduating from the academy.
Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan was a member of the faculty from 1903 to 1908, when he joined Admiral Peary in his effort to reach the North Pole. (He actually donated a canoe from the expedition to the academy. It now sits on the rafters in the Megaron).
Worcester is a member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. Its main athletic rivals include Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy Andover, Deerfield Academy, Cushing Academy, Lawrence Academy, Governor Dummer Academy, and Milton Academy.
Notable alumni
Notable alumni of Worcester Academy include:
- Eli Thayer 1840, founder of the Oread Institute and the New England Emigrant Aid Society
- Royal C. Taft, 1872, Governor of Rhode Island
- Edward Davis Jones 1873, co-founder of Dow Jones
- John Hope, 1890, Educator and founder of Atlanta University
- Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor 1893, founder and first editor of National Geographic magazine
- Ernest Manley Hopkins, 1896, President of Dartmouth College
- Clarence Dillon 1904, co-founder of investment bank Dillon, Read and Company, father of C. Douglas Dillon
- Charles E. Merrill 1904, co-founder of Merrill Lynch
- Cole Porter 1909, Broadway composer
- Willis Goldbeck, 1910, movie producer and writer
- Lou Little, 1912, College football coach
- General Norman D. Cota 1915, World War II hero
- Tony Hulman 1920, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner
- Charles Starrett, 1922, actor who played the Durango Kid
- Arthur Kennedy, 1930, stage and screen actor.
- Ned Harkness, 1939, college and professional hockey coach
- Lewis Wilson, 1939, the first Batman in the movies
- Abbie Hoffman 1955, 1960s radical
- William Toomey 1957, gold-medal winning decathlete in the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Tom Holland, 1962, film director
- Rep. Jim McGovern 1977, U.S. Congressman
- Mark Fidrych 1974
- Rick Carlisle 1979
- Jarrett Jack 2002
- Craig Smith 2002
External links
- [Worcester Academy official website]
- [Worcester Academy's official history page]
- [Worcester Academy history]
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