The Fessenden School is an independent day (Pre-K – Grade 9) and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

(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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, 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

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...

. * 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 Intellige ...

– 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 – 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 was ...

- 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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

-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 solo ...

, 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 Gerardo Torrado Díez de Bonilla (born 30 April 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Torrado represented Mexico at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups and has won three CONCACAF Gold Cup ...

– Mexican soccer player who plays for

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in the

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. *

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– Member of the U20 U.S. national soccer team. Current member of

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– Member of Erie BayHawks basketball team in the

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, former member of

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, 2010–11 national champion and of the

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basketball team. He was drafted 57th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2013 NBA Draft *

Charles Nesson Charles Rothwell Nesson (born February 11, 1939) is the William F. Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society and of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society. He is author of ''E ...

– the William F. Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School * Ben Kurland- an actor best known for his role in the

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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