Sarah Porter (August 16, 1813 – February 18, 1900) was the American educator who founded Miss Porter's School, a private college preparatory school for girls.

Biography

Sarah Porter in garden by the Kellogg Brothers - Original

She was born in Farmington, Connecticut, to Rev. Noah Porter (1781 – 1866) and his wife, Mehetable "Meigs" Porter (1786 – 1874). Her older brother,

Noah Porter Noah Thomas Porter III (December 14, 1811 – March 4, 1892)''Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University'', Yale University, 1891-2, New Haven, pp. 82-83. was an American Congregational minister, academic, philosopher, author, lexicographer a ...

, was President of Yale College 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, New York and Pennsylvania, and returned to Connecticut in 1843 to found a female counterpart to

Simeon Hart Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, son ...

'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, 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 but promoted other legal reforms for women, including reforms in divorce and property laws. Prominent students of the Porter School include Alice Hamilton, Edith Hamilton, architect Theodate Pope Riddle,

Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother ...

, and

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

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