Albert Cornelius Perkins (December 18, 1833 – September 22, 1896) was an American educator and fourth
principal of
Phillips Exeter Academy
(not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God)
, location = 20 Main Street
, city = Exeter, New Hampshire
, zipcode ...
and fourth principal of
Adelphi University.
Albert Perkins was born on 1833 in
Topsfield, Massachusetts to Nehemiah and Lydiah Perkins. He was a descendant of
Thomas Dudley and
Simon Bradstreet, two governors of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
, and was the brother to John W. Perkins, the principal of
The Governor's Academy and superintendent of the City of Salem public school system. He entered Exeter's rival school
Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
in 1852, where he graduated and entered
Dartmouth College, where he in turn graduated in 1859 with an A.M. degree. At Dartmouth, he was a member of the
Psi Upsilon fraternity. He then went to Andover to teach for two years, after which he left to practice law for a year in
Salem, Massachusetts. He then taught at Peabody High School in modern-day
Peabody. In 1863, he became principal of Oliver High School in
Lawrence. After two years as principal, he was elected principal of Exeter. Under his administration, the newspaper
the Exonian
''The Exonian'' is the bi-weekly student-run newspaper of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. It has been printed continuously since April 6, 1878, making it the oldest continuously-published preparatory school newspaper in the coun ...
, the oldest continually published secondary school newspaper in the United States, was established. In 1879, he was awarded a PhD degree from Dartmouth. He resigned in 1883 to become principal of
Adelphi University in
Brooklyn, New York, a position from which he resigned in 1892. Following his time at Adelphi, he opened a private school in Brooklyn, and was offered a professorship from Dartmouth. In Brooklyn, he worked as a civil service commissioner from 1894 to 1896.
Perkins was married Caroline Cleveland in
Topsfield, with whom he had four children—a son and three daughters. He died on September 22, 1896, in Brooklyn.
References
1833 births
1896 deaths
Phillips Exeter Academy faculty
People from Topsfield, Massachusetts
Dartmouth College alumni
Dartmouth College faculty
Adelphi University faculty
19th-century American educators
19th-century American lawyers
Psi Upsilon
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