Sarah Porter (August 16, 1813 – February 18, 1900) was the American educator who founded

Miss Porter's School Miss Porter's School (MPS) is an elite American private college preparatory school for girls founded in 1843, and located in Farmington, Connecticut. The school draws students from 21 states, 31 countries (with dual-citizenship and/or residence), ...

, a private college preparatory school for girls.

Biography

Sarah Porter in garden by the Kellogg Brothers - Original

She was born in

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...

, to Rev. Noah Porter (1781 – 1866) and his wife, Mehetable "Meigs" Porter (1786 – 1874). Her older brother, Noah Porter, was President of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

from 1871 to 1886. She was educated at Farmington Academy and at the Young Ladies Institute in New Haven, and, uncharacteristically for women of the time, studied privately with Yale College professors. She taught in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, New York and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and returned to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

in 1843 to found a female counterpart to Simeon Hart's Academy for Boys. Initially, she had only 25 students, but because of the school's expansive curriculum, including the sciences as well as the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, the daughters of the affluent soon made it their school of choice, and the school quickly expanded. She encouraged students to pursue academic excellence and exercise. She was an opponent of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

but promoted other legal reforms for women, including reforms in divorce and property laws. Prominent students of the Porter School include

Alice Hamilton Alice Hamilton (February 27, 1869Corn, JHamilton, Alice''American National Biography'' – September 22, 1970) was an American physician, research scientist, and author. She was a leading expert in the field of occupational health and a pioneer ...

Edith Hamilton Edith Hamilton (August 12, 1867 – May 31, 1963) was an American educator and internationally known author who was one of the most renowned classicists of her era in the United States. A graduate of Bryn Mawr College, she also studied in Germany ...

, architect

Theodate Pope Riddle Theodate Pope Riddle (February 2, 1867 – August 30, 1946) was an American architect and philanthropist. She was one of the first American women architects and a survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania''. Life Born Effie Brooks Pope ...

, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Graciela Arango.

References

External links

Sarah Porter in The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame
1813 births 1900 deaths American educators People from Farmington, Connecticut Biography articles needing expert attention {{US-edu-bio-stub