Richard Ward Day (August 14, 1916 – July 3, 1978) was an American educator and the 10th
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 ...
.
Richard W. Day was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
on August 14, 1916, to Hilbert Francis Day and Elizabeth V. H. Richards. He attended
Shady Hill School
Shady Hill School is an independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, Shady Hill serves students in pre-kindergarten (called 'Beginners' by the school) through 8th grade. The school has an enrollment of appr ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, and
Belmont Hill School
Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school on a campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grad ...
in
Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295 ...
, and was educated at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he graduated in 1938. During World War II, Day was inducted into the
U.S. Army in March 1942 and was commissioned in November; he served for a time in the S2 section of the 515th Parachute Infantry Regiment and was assigned as an aide-de-camp to General
Gaither in December 1943. He was promoted to
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
and served with
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
in the Pacific theater as a paratrooper. After the war, he attended
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he earned his doctorate in 1950. From 1964 to 1973, he served as the principal at Exeter. He was appointed in 1963; however, due to other commitments he was unable to assume his position until the following year. William Earnest Gillespie instead served as interim principal. Under him, the
Class of 1945 Library, designed by
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
, was commissioned and built. The academy also became coeducational under Day in 1970. Following his time at Exeter, he served as the principal of
Montclair Kimberley Academy. Across his life, he had taught at several institutions, including
Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...
,
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private high ...
, and
St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. He also was a trustee of the
College Entrance Examination Board,
Saddle River Country Day School and
Mount Saint Dominic Academy
Mount St. Dominic Academy is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school for young women located in Caldwell, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades. The school was founded in 1892 by ...
.
He was married to Katharine MacAusland, with whom he had a daughter, Lydia Day Hart, and two sons, Richard W. Day Jr. and Andrew M. Day. He died on July 3, 1978, at the age of 61, in
Montclair,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, and was buried in
Mayflower Cemetery
Mayflower Cemetery is a town-owned cemetery in Duxbury, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. The first grave was of Stephen Russell in 1787 and the first engraved stone was of Ichabod Sampson in 1788. The Duxbury Crematory, also owned by the town, i ...
in
Duxbury
Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...
, Massachusetts.
Published works
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Richard W.
Harvard University alumni
Yale University alumni
Phillips Exeter Academy faculty
United States Army soldiers
1916 births
1978 deaths
Belmont Hill School alumni
Shady Hill School alumni