Roxbury Latin School
Encyclopedia
The Roxbury Latin School is the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. The school was founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts
by the Rev. John Eliot
under a charter received from King Charles I of England
. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.
Located since 1927 at 101 St. Theresa Avenue in the West Roxbury
neighborhood of Boston, the school now serves about 290 to 300 boys in grades seven through twelve. Eliot founded the school "to fit [students] for public service both in church and in commonwealth in succeeding ages," and the school continues to consider instilling a desire to perform public service among its principal missions.
The school's endowment is estimated at $143.8 million, the largest of any boys' school in the United States. The school maintains a need-blind admissions policy, admitting boys without consideration of the ability of their families to pay the full tuition.
Its previous headmaster, F. Washington Jarvis, who retired in the summer of 2004 after a 30-year tenure, published two books about Roxbury Latin: a history of the school and a collection of his speeches to boys at Roxbury Latin (With Love and Prayers). The title of the former, Schola Illustris, was the phrase Cotton Mather
used to describe the school in 1690, following John Eliot's death. In addition to those books, Richard Walden Hale published Tercentenary History of the Roxbury Latin School in 1946. Roxbury Latin continues to hold a unique place in the history of American education.
Roxbury Latin School is a member of the Independent School League
and NEPSAC. It has an unofficial sister school relationship with The Winsor School
in Boston as well as an African brother school, the Maru a Pula School
.
magazine ranked Roxbury Latin as the #1 "feeder school" for elite universities, with a larger portion of its graduating class attending Princeton
, Harvard
, or Yale
than any other school.
In 2008, the website PrepReview.com extended and updated the earlier survey by Worth magazine. Despite using more inclusive criteria in place of Worth's narrow focus on the Big Three, Roxbury Latin once again topped the rankings. PrepReview.com looked at the number of matriculants to all eight Ivy League undergraduate colleges as well as to MIT and Stanford. Roxbury Latin placed nearly half (45%) of its recent graduates among these institutions, the highest success rate of any secondary school in the world. The 2008 rankings by PrepReview.com placed Roxbury Latin first in all of the following categories: America's Top 50 High Schools, America's Best High Schools Ranked by SAT, and America's Best Private Day Schools. Additionally, PrepReview.com ranked Roxbury Latin first in the world among secondary schools for its students' success at gaining admission to Harvard University: in 2009, 20% of the graduating class at Roxbury Latin matriculated at Harvard. In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked Roxbury Latin fifth in a list of the top 10 prep schools in America.
, and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston
. The school charges a nominal fee for the bus usage.
, cross country
, soccer
(fall), basketball
, ice hockey
, wrestling
(winter), baseball
, tennis
, lacrosse
, and track and field
(spring). The school has a notable wrestling program, with the varsity coach Steven E. Ward recently being inducted into the wrestling hall of fame in 2009.
program and the Debate and Public Speaking program are especially popular, with approximately a hundred students in each. The school participates in many Model United Nations conferences and Debate tournaments every year. Another moderately popular activity is Botball
, an annual inter-scholastic robotics competition. The school team has done exceptionally well in recent years. In 2009, it placed 5th in the New England chapter and in 2010, it placed 2nd out of 19 teams, a school record. the school also boasts additional language clubs, and a chess team, as well as other community service clubs, such as Habitat for Humanity.
group consisting of about fourteen singers called the Latonics that requires an audition. Additionally, there is a jazz band and several halls a year devoted to instrumental performances by students and faculty. Most of the students participate in the music program in some capacity.
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
by the Rev. John Eliot
John Eliot (missionary)
John Eliot was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians. His efforts earned him the designation “the Indian apostle.”-English education and Massachusetts ministry:...
under a charter received from King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.
Located since 1927 at 101 St. Theresa Avenue in the West Roxbury
West Roxbury, Massachusetts
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston bordered by Roslindale to the north, the Town of Dedham to the east and south, the Town of Brookline and the City of Newton to the west. Many people mistakenly confuse West Roxbury with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from...
neighborhood of Boston, the school now serves about 290 to 300 boys in grades seven through twelve. Eliot founded the school "to fit [students] for public service both in church and in commonwealth in succeeding ages," and the school continues to consider instilling a desire to perform public service among its principal missions.
The school's endowment is estimated at $143.8 million, the largest of any boys' school in the United States. The school maintains a need-blind admissions policy, admitting boys without consideration of the ability of their families to pay the full tuition.
Its previous headmaster, F. Washington Jarvis, who retired in the summer of 2004 after a 30-year tenure, published two books about Roxbury Latin: a history of the school and a collection of his speeches to boys at Roxbury Latin (With Love and Prayers). The title of the former, Schola Illustris, was the phrase Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...
used to describe the school in 1690, following John Eliot's death. In addition to those books, Richard Walden Hale published Tercentenary History of the Roxbury Latin School in 1946. Roxbury Latin continues to hold a unique place in the history of American education.
Roxbury Latin School is a member of the Independent School League
Independent School League (Boston Area)
The Independent School League is composed of sixteen New England preparatory schools that compete athletically and academically. Founded in 1948, the ISL's sixteen member compete in eighteen sports in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference...
and NEPSAC. It has an unofficial sister school relationship with The Winsor School
The Winsor School
The Winsor School is a girls' college prep school for day students in grades 5-12 founded in 1886. The school is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has approximately 432 students representing 57 communities in Massachusetts. The endowment as of July 1, 2007 was $50,516,000 which is $110,640 per...
in Boston as well as an African brother school, the Maru a Pula School
Maru a Pula School
Maru-a-Pula School is an independent, co-educational, secondary school located in Gaborone, Botswana. Founded in 1972, it has grown from an initial class of 25 students to over 650 today...
.
Rankings
According to Peterson's Private Secondary Schools 2010, Roxbury Latin students scored a median of 2230 on the 2400 SAT scale, believed to be the highest score of any school in the country. The July 2008 issue of the Roxbury Latin School Newsletter lists the SAT medians for the Class of 2008 as 750 Critical Reading, 750 Math, and 750 Writing. A 2004 piece in the Wall Street Journal noted Roxbury Latin for its acceptance rates at the most competitive universities, despite maintaining a low tuition relative to its peers ($17,900 in 2008-2009). In 2003, WorthWorth (magazine)
Worth is an American wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals. It is published on a bi-monthly basis and circulated to over 110,000 recipients.-History:Worth was founded in 1992 as a wealth management magazine for high net worth individuals...
magazine ranked Roxbury Latin as the #1 "feeder school" for elite universities, with a larger portion of its graduating class attending Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, or Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
than any other school.
In 2008, the website PrepReview.com extended and updated the earlier survey by Worth magazine. Despite using more inclusive criteria in place of Worth's narrow focus on the Big Three, Roxbury Latin once again topped the rankings. PrepReview.com looked at the number of matriculants to all eight Ivy League undergraduate colleges as well as to MIT and Stanford. Roxbury Latin placed nearly half (45%) of its recent graduates among these institutions, the highest success rate of any secondary school in the world. The 2008 rankings by PrepReview.com placed Roxbury Latin first in all of the following categories: America's Top 50 High Schools, America's Best High Schools Ranked by SAT, and America's Best Private Day Schools. Additionally, PrepReview.com ranked Roxbury Latin first in the world among secondary schools for its students' success at gaining admission to Harvard University: in 2009, 20% of the graduating class at Roxbury Latin matriculated at Harvard. In 2010, Forbes magazine ranked Roxbury Latin fifth in a list of the top 10 prep schools in America.
Transportation
The school provides school bus service for some students who live in the Dorchester, South Boston, Hyde Park, MattapanMattapan, Massachusetts
Mattapan is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 36,480...
, and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The school charges a nominal fee for the bus usage.
Athletics
The school has varsity, junior varsity and lower-level teams in footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
(fall), basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, wrestling
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
(winter), baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
(spring). The school has a notable wrestling program, with the varsity coach Steven E. Ward recently being inducted into the wrestling hall of fame in 2009.
Extra-curriculars
The school has a wide variety of extra-curricular activities for its students to partake in. The Model United NationsModel United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
program and the Debate and Public Speaking program are especially popular, with approximately a hundred students in each. The school participates in many Model United Nations conferences and Debate tournaments every year. Another moderately popular activity is Botball
Botball
Botball is an educational robotics program that focuses on engaging middle and high school aged students in team-oriented robotics competitions. Thousands of children and young adults participate in Botball’s program...
, an annual inter-scholastic robotics competition. The school team has done exceptionally well in recent years. In 2009, it placed 5th in the New England chapter and in 2010, it placed 2nd out of 19 teams, a school record. the school also boasts additional language clubs, and a chess team, as well as other community service clubs, such as Habitat for Humanity.
Music
The school has an extensive music program, available to students of all grades. There is junior chorus for seventh and eighth graders, and a chorus and a glee club for highschoolers. There is also a small a cappellaA cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group consisting of about fourteen singers called the Latonics that requires an audition. Additionally, there is a jazz band and several halls a year devoted to instrumental performances by students and faculty. Most of the students participate in the music program in some capacity.
Notable alumni
- John Bowles (1667) – Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
- John WiseJohn Wise (clergyman)John Wise was a Congregationalist reverend and political leader in Massachusetts during the American colonial period...
(1669) – clergyman credited with revolutionary phrase "no taxation without representationNo taxation without representation"No taxation without representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution...
" - James PierpontJames Pierpont (Yale founder)James Pierpont was a Congregationalist minister who is credited with the founding of Yale University in the United States...
(1677) – principal founder of Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States... - Paul Dudley (1686) – Chief Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1745–1751) and Attorney General of Massachusetts (1702–1718)
- Joseph WarrenJoseph WarrenDr. Joseph Warren was an American doctor who played a leading role in American Patriot organizations in Boston in early days of the American Revolution, eventually serving as president of the revolutionary Massachusetts Provincial Congress...
(1755) – Continental Army General who was killed at the Battle of Bunker HillBattle of Bunker HillThe Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
, surgeon - Increase SumnerIncrease SumnerIncrease Sumner was an American politician from Massachusetts. He served as the fifth governor of Massachusetts from 1797 to 1799. Trained as a lawyer, he served in the provisional government of Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War, and was elected to the Confederation Congress in...
(1763) – governor of MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(1797–1799), Justice of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1782–1797) - John WarrenJohn Warren (surgeon)John Warren was a Continental Army surgeon during the American Revolutionary War, founder of the Harvard Medical School and the younger brother of Joseph Warren.-Early life:...
(1767) – founder of Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, renowned surgeon - Francis Cabot Lowell (1789) – businessman, member of Boston Lowell familyLowell familyThe Lowell family settled on the North Shore at Cape Ann after they arrived in Boston on June 23, 1639. The patriarch, Percival Lowle , described as a "solid citizen of Bristol", determined at the age of 68 that the future was in the New World.Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop needed...
, founder of Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, MassachusettsLowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County... - Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.Charles Russell Lowell, Sr.Charles Russell Lowell, Sr. was a Unitarian minister.-Biography:He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended The Roxbury Latin School and later Harvard College in 1800 where he studied law and then theology...
(1796) – Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
fellow - Edmund M. WheelwrightEdmund M. WheelwrightEdmund March Wheelwright was one of New England's most important architects in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and served as city architect for Boston, Massachusetts from 1891-1895....
(1872) – architect, designer of BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
landmarks such as Longfellow BridgeLongfellow BridgeThe Longfellow Bridge, also known to locals as the "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" or the "Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers, carries Route 3 and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Red Line across the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill...
, Horticultural HallHorticultural Hall, Boston, MassachusettsHorticultural Hall, at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, was built in 1901. It sits across the street from Symphony Hall. Since 1992, it has been owned by the Christian Science Church...
, and Jordan HallJordan HallJordan Hall is a 1,019-seat concert hall in Boston, Massachusetts, the principal performance space of the New England Conservatory. It is one block from Boston's Symphony Hall, and together they are considered two of America's most acoustically perfect performance spaces... - George Lyman KittredgeGeorge Lyman KittredgeGeorge Lyman Kittredge was a celebrated professor and scholar of English literature at Harvard University. His scholarly edition of the works of William Shakespeare' as well as his writings and lectures on Shakespeare and other literary figures made him one of the most influential American...
(1875) – influential literary scholar and professor at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country... - Edwin Upton CurtisEdwin Upton CurtisEdwin Upton Curtis was an American attorney and politician from Massachusetts who served as the 34th Mayor of Boston in 1895...
(1878) - 34th and youngest-ever MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... - Arthur Vining DavisArthur Vining DavisArthur Vining Davis was an American industrialist and philanthropist.-Early history:Arthur Vining Davis was born in Sharon, Massachusetts, the son of Perley B. Davis, a Congregational minister, and Mary Frances...
(1884) – president of Aluminum Company of America (1910–1949), major educational benefactor in United States - Robert W. WoodRobert W. WoodRobert Williams Wood was an American physicist and inventor. He is often cited as being a pivotal contributor to the field of optics and is best known for giving birth to the so-called "black-light effect"...
(1887) – American physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, professor at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States... - Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was an American landscape architect best known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. Olmsted Point in Yosemite and Olmsted Island at Great Falls...
(1890) - landscape architect and journalist - Edward Lee Thorndike (1891) – famed psychologist, former professor at ColumbiaColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, member of National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and... - William Welles Hoyt (1894) – medal winner in the pole vaultPole vaultPole vaulting is a track and field event in which a person uses a long, flexible pole as an aid to leap over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the ancient Greeks, as well as the Cretans and Celts...
at the 1896 Olympic Games in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... - James DoleJames DoleJames Drummond Dole , also known as the "Pineapple King'", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii and established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. Hawaiian Pineapple Company, or HAPCO, was later reorganized to become the Dole Food Company, which now does...
(1895) – founder of the Hawaiian Company in Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
currently known as Dole Food Company - Malcolm WhitmanMalcolm WhitmanMalcolm "Mal" Douglass Whitman was a male American tennis player.Whitman is best known for this hat trick at the U.S. Championships. Between 1898 and 1900, he stayed undefeated there...
(1895) – tennis star, U.S. open champion in 1898, 1899, and 1900, member of original Davis Cup team and of Tennis Hall of Fame - Paul Dudley WhitePaul Dudley WhitePaul Dudley White , American physician and cardiologist, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the son of Herbert Warren White and Elizabeth Abigail Dudley. White's interest in medicine was sparked early in life, when he accompanied his father, a family practitioner, on rounds and house calls in a...
(1903) – "Father of Modern Cardiology," noted cardiologistCardiologyCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
, founder of American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart AssociationThe American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas... - James B. SumnerJames B. SumnerJames Batcheller Sumner was an American chemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 with John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith Stanley.-Biography:...
(1906) – noted chemistChemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, recipient of 1946 Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in Chemistry - James Bryant ConantJames Bryant ConantJames Bryant Conant was a chemist, educational administrator, and government official. As thePresident of Harvard University he reformed it as a research institution.-Biography :...
(1910) – president of Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, ambassador to Germany - Marland P. BillingsMarland P. BillingsMarland Pratt Billings was an American structural geologist who was considered one of the greatest authorities on North American geology. Billings was Professor of Geology at Harvard University for almost his entire career, having joined the faculty in 1930 and retired to emeritus status in 1972...
(1919) – noted geologist, Penrose MedalPenrose MedalThe Penrose Medal was created in 1927 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr. as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America to those who advance the study of geoscience.-Award winners:* 2011 Paul F. Hoffman* 2010 Eric J. Essene* 2009 B. Clark Burchfiel...
winner, Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
professor - Albert Hamilton GordonAlbert Hamilton GordonAlbert Hamilton Gordon , was a businessman who transformed the Wall Street firm of Kidder Peabody. He bought the firm in 1931 and remained its chairman until selling it to General Electric in 1986...
(1919) – Wall Street businessman, philanthropist - Kevin P. Reilly, Sr.Kevin Reilly (Louisiana politician)Kevin Patrick Reilly, Sr. , a retired businessman and active philanthropist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the former executive officer of the Lamar Advertising Company who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 68 between 1972 and 1988...
(ca. 1945) - retired CEO of Lamar Advertising CompanyLamar Advertising CompanyThe Lamar Advertising Company , based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a provider of billboards, transit advertising, and highway logo signs. Founded in 1902, Lamar currently operates over 150 outdoor advertising companies in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico...
and former member of the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators... - Richard W. MurphyRichard W. MurphyRichard William Murphy is an American diplomat.After graduating from The Roxbury Latin School in 1947, he received BAs from Harvard University in 1951 and from Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge in 1953. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the U.S...
(1947) – former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, television commentator - Richard BarnetRichard BarnetRichard Jackson Barnet was an American scholar-activist who co-founded the Institute for Policy Studies.-Early years:...
(1948) – activist, scholar, co-founder of the Institute for Policy StudiesInstitute for Policy StudiesInstitute for Policy Studies is a left-wing think tank based in Washington, D.C..It has been directed by John Cavanagh since 1998- History :... - Jared DiamondJared DiamondJared Mason Diamond is an American scientist and author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA...
(1954) – noted biologistBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, author and Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winner for Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - Paul G. Kirk (1956) – former U.S. SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and former chairman of the Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support... - Christopher LydonChristopher LydonChristopher Lydon is an American media personality and author. He is best known for being the original host of The Connection, produced by WBUR and syndicated to other NPR stations.-Background:...
(1958) – radio broadcaster and former host of NPR's "The Connection" - David R. GodineDavid R. GodineDavid R. Godine is the founder and president of David R. Godine, Inc., a small publishing house located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is independent and its list tends to reflect the individual tastes of its president....
(1960) - publisher - Peter RodmanPeter RodmanPeter Warren Rodman was a lawyer, government official and foreign policy expert.Born in Boston, he was educated at The Roxbury Latin School, and later at Harvard College , Oxford University , and Harvard Law School...
(1961) - former Assistant Secretary of Defense - Peter DerowPeter DerowPeter Sidney Derow , MA, PhD was Hody Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at Wadham College, Oxford and University Lecturer in Ancient History from 1977 to 2006...
(1961) - voice alteration innovator, renowned historian, scholar; lecturer at Oxford University - Peter IversPeter IversPeter Scott Ivers was an American musician, best known as the host of New Wave Theatre.Ivers was born in Illinois, but raised in Brookline, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Roxbury Latin School and then Harvard University, majoring in classical languages, but chose a career in...
(1964) - musician, composer, host of New Wave TheatreNew Wave TheatreNew Wave Theatre was a television program broadcast locally in the Los Angeles area on UHF channel 18 and eventually on the USA Network as part of the late night variety show Night Flight during the early 1980s. The show was created and produced by David Jove, who also wrote the program with... - Michael J. AstrueMichael J. AstrueMichael James Astrue is an American lawyer and, under the pen name A. M. Juster, a poet and critic. He has served as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration since 2007.-Career:...
(1974) - current Commissioner of Social Security AdministrationSocial Security AdministrationThe United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits... - John R. ConnollyJohn R. ConnollyJohn R. Connolly is an At-Large Boston City Councilor representing the City of Boston, Massachusetts. He was elected in November 2007. There are four At-Large seats on the Boston City Council. John is the Chair of the Education Committee, the Environment and Health Committee and the Special...
(1991) - at-large member of Boston City Council - Stefan JackiwStefan Jackiw-Biography:Stefan Jackiw was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Korean mother and a German father of Ukrainian origin, both physicists. His mother, So-Young Pi, teaches at Boston University, and his father, Roman Jackiw, at MIT. His surname, pronounced jack-eev, is of Ukrainian origin...
(2003) - classical violinist