Howell Cheney (January 1, 1870, Hartford, Connecticut – August 20, 1957) was a member of the Cheney silk manufacturing dynasty. The Cheneys had long been the first family of

Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 20 ...

. Their mill buildings, workers residences and family mansions form the

Cheney Brothers Historic District The Cheney Brothers Historic District was a center of the silk industry in Manchester, Connecticut, in the late 19th and early 20th century. The district includes over 275 mill buildings, workers houses, churches, schools and Cheney family mans ...

. He was graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1892 with an AB and again in 1898 with an MA. He was a member of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a Fraternities and sororities in North America, North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and univers ...

and

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. In 1893, he entered the family silk manufacturing firm, Cheney Brothers. He would remain with the firm until 1935, serving as its secretary and director from 1925 to 1935. He was a trustee of the Manchester Savings Bank, from 1900 to 1905; director of the

National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 ...

, from 1912 to 1915; director of the National Chamber of Commerce; and President of the Manufactures Association of Hartford County, from 1922 to 1925. In 1915 he founded Howell Cheney Technical High School in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. The school is now located at 791 West Middle Turpnike and offers ten vocations for high school students to choose from while they also complete a regular high school adademic program. He was a member of the Connecticut Board of Education, from 1909 to 1919; state director of the National War Savings Committee, from 1918 to 1919; Secretary-Treasurer of the Connecticut Economic Council; and member of the Board of Appeals of the Selective Service System, from 1941 to 1945. Cheney also served as Chairman of the School Committee of South Manchester, from 1898 to 1939; member of the National Child Labour Committee, in 1914; Chairman of the Connecticut Unemployment Committee, from 1913 to 1938; Chairman of the High School Commission of Manchester, from 1927 to 1933; Chairman of the Committee on Junior Education and Employment; member of the Connecticut Committee on Consolidation of State Commissions; and Chairman of the Committee on State Prisons Systems. Although Cheney was a former member of the National Child Labour Committee, he was attacked by them in 1926, when he suggested that children should be able to leave school and go into industry at the age of fourteen. Cheney was a Trustee of Mt. Holyoke College, from 1912 to 1926 and 1930 to 1940; Trustee of the

American School for the Deaf The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and the first school for children with dis ...

, in 1913; member of the

Yale Corporation The Yale Corporation, officially The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Assembly of corporation The Corporation comprises 19 members: * Three ex officio members: the Presiden ...

, from 1914 to 1938; Trustee of the

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, University-preparatory school, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lowe ...

; and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hartford Junior College. He died in 1957 in

Pinellas County, Florida Pinellas County (, ) is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 959,107. The county is part of the Tampa– St. Petersburg– Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistic ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheney, Howell 1870 births 1957 deaths Connecticut State Board of Education members People from Manchester, Connecticut Yale University alumni University of Hartford people