The Fessenden School is an independent day (Pre-K – Grade 9) and boarding school (Grades 5 – 9) for boys, founded in 1903 by Frederick J. Fessenden as a school for the intellectually gifted, and located at 250 Waltham Street,

West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic District. ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, on a campus.

Notable alumni

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably a ...

– American actor best known for playing Tarzan in ''

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''. *

Hugh DeHaven Hugh DeHaven (3 March 1895 – 13 February 1980) was an American pilot, engineer and passive safety pioneer. DeHaven survived a plane crash while training as a Royal Canadian Flying Corps pilot during the First World War, and became interested in ...

– American professor at Cornell University and considered the "Father of Crash Survivability". *

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: '' Mr. Novak'', '' The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', '' Doc Elliot'', ...

– American actor who appeared in movies and television programs in the 1960s and 1970s. * Edward Hallowell – Physician and international authority on

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. * Howard R. Hughes – American aviator, industrialist and film producer/director. He attended the school in 1921. *

Porter Goss Porter Johnston Goss (; born November 26, 1938) is an American politician and government official who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 until 2004, when he became the last Director of Central Intellig ...

– Director of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

from 2004 to 2006, United States Representative from Florida from 1989 to 2004. *

Patrick J. Kennedy Patrick Joseph Kennedy II (born July 14, 1967) is an American politician and mental health advocate. From 1995 to 2011, he served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 1st congressional distr ...

– former United States Representative from Rhode Island. * Edward M. Kennedy – United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009. *

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

– Former United States Secretary of State, Former United States Senator from Massachusetts and Democratic candidate for President of United States in 2004. *

Sol Kumin Sol Kumin (born 13 May 1975) is an American business leader, Thoroughbred racehorse owner and philanthropist. In May 2018, he became the first owner since 1952 to have both a Kentucky Oaks and a Kentucky Derby winner in the same weekend. He ...

- Businessman, philanthropist and racehorse owner. *

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

– Three-time Emmy Award-winning actor. Best known for the ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

'' trilogy. *

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

– Pulitzer Prize winner, Columbia music professor, and legendary figure in American Opera for works including The Ballad of Baby Doe, The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Giants of the Earth. Moore also wrote the school song "Song of Fessenden." *

Matt Nathanson Matthew Adam Nathanson (born March 28, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock and roll music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (sometimes a 12-string) and electric guitar, and has played both sol ...

, Singer-songwriter *

William Scranton William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American Republican Party politician and diplomat. Scranton served as the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967, and as United States Ambassador to the United Nations fr ...

– Governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967 and United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977. * Gerardo Torrado – Mexican soccer player who plays for

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in the Primera División de México. * Sheanon Williams – Member of the U20 U.S. national soccer team. Current member of

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

, Philadelphia Union *

Alex Oriakhi Alex Oriakhi Jr. (pronounced "Or-e-ah-ki"; born June 21, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Depiro Rabat Imtarfa of the Maltese Division One Basketball league. He was the starting center for the Connecticut Huskies' 2010–1 ...

– Member of Erie BayHawks basketball team in the NBA Development League, former member of

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, 2010–11 national champion and of the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

basketball team. He was drafted 57th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2013 NBA Draft * Charles Nesson – the William F. Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School * Ben Kurland- an actor best known for his role in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning film '' The Artist''.

Notes

* Peterson's, ''Private Secondary Schools 2008'', page 1278. . *Fessenden also operates a co-ed summer camp.

External links

Official Website
Educational institutions established in 1903 Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Private middle schools in Massachusetts 1903 establishments in Massachusetts Boarding schools in Massachusetts {{massachusetts-school-stub