Edwin Howard Baker Pratt (June 5, 1913 – March 18, 1975), was an American educator and headmaster of

Buckingham Browne & Nichols Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, often referred to as BB&N, is an independent co-educational day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, educating students from pre-kindergarten (called Beginners) through twelfth grade. BB&N is regularly ranked am ...

Early life

On June 5, 1913, Pratt was born in Glen Cove, New York. Pratt's father was John Teele Pratt, a lawyer and financier. Pratt's mother Ruth Baker Pratt, a Republican Congresswoman. Pratt's grandfather was

Charles Pratt Charles Pratt (October 2, 1830 – May 4, 1891) was an American businessman. Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and he established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. He then lived with his growing fam ...

, an oil industry pioneer. Pratt had four siblings and was named after his maternal uncle, Edwin Howard Baker, the head of Organo Chemical Company of Cambridge. In 1936, Pratt graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

Career

From 1949 to 1968, Pratt served as the

headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

of the private Browne & Nichols, now

, 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 ...

. He was previously a teacher at the

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

Personal life

In 1935, Pratt became engaged to Aileen Kelly of Massachusetts, who had been born in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1915. They married in 1936 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Pittsfield, and together had four children, the youngest of whom is singer-songwriter Andy Pratt. Pratt, a resident of

Marion, Massachusetts Marion is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,347 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the village of Marion Center, please see the article Marion Center, Massachusetts. His ...

, died on March 18, 1975, at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two f ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 61.Massachusetts Death Index, 1970-2003 His widow died the following year in 1976.

Legacy

Through bequests to Buckingham Browne & Nichols, there are the Edwin H. B. Pratt Faculty Fund and the Edwin and Aileen Pratt Faculty Development Fund.

References

External links

Edwin Pratt's 1931 passport
from www.passportland.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Edwin H Baker 1913 births 1975 deaths Harvard College alumni People from Boston 20th-century American educators People from Glen Cove, New York Charles Pratt family Educators from New York (state)