Stiles French (December 6, 1801 – May 9, 1881) was an American teacher and founder of the New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, later known as the

Russell Military Academy The New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute (later to be popularly known as the Russell Military Academy) was founded by Stiles French in 1834 and is a defunct military academy and college preparatory school that "fitted" students to apply ...

. French the third child of David and Anna (Johnson) French, was born in

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West ...

, a parish of Woodbridge, Conn., December 6, 1801. He began to teach a district school at the age of 17, and it was not until the spring of 1823 that he was able to make systematic preparation for College. He was admitted to the Sophomore Class 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, ...

at the end of the first term and graduated in 1827. After graduation, he pursued advanced scientific studies under the direction of the college for two or three years, being also connected from the Spring of 1828 with the

New Haven Gymnasium New Haven Gymnasium was a brief-lived boarding school for boys in New Haven, Connecticut, founded on the German plan by two sons of Timothy Dwight, Sereno Edwards Dwight (1786-1850) and Henry Edwin Dwight (1797-1832). Henry had become an admir ...

, as mathematical teacher. He taught in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

until the spring of 1831, when he accepted the position of teacher of Mathematics in the

Round Hill School The Round Hill School for Boys was a short-lived experimental school in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by George Bancroft and Joseph Cogswell in 1823. Though it failed as a viable venture — it closed in 1834 — it was an early effort ...

, at

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, Mass., where he remained for two years. In August, 1833, he established, with his brother, a Collegiate and Commercial School in

Wooster Square Wooster Square is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut to the east of downtown. The name refers to a park square (named for the American Revolutionary War hero, David Wooster) located between Greene Street, Wooster Place, Chapel St ...

, in New Haven, which he conducted for about twelve years. After an interval of leisure he established another classical and scientific school in this city, which he maintained for over twenty-five years. About the year 1875 he removed to Northampton, but in 1880 returned to New Haven, where he died May 9, 1881, of a disease of the kidneys, after five months' illness. He was twice married, and by his second marriage had a son and a daughter. His son was drowned in 1869, while a member of the Sophomore Class of Yale. His wife and daughter survived him.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:French, stiles 1801 births 1881 deaths People from Bethany, Connecticut Yale College alumni Schoolteachers from Connecticut 19th-century American educators