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History Deerfield Academy was founded in 1797 when Massachusetts granted a charter -- signed by then-governor Samual Adams -- to start a school in the town of Deerfield. The academy quickly established itself as one of the finest schools in the country, drawing boys and girls, from prominent families across New England. By the second half of the 19th century, however, the academy was in decline. Deerfield Academy was never affiliated with a religion, but attendance at Congregationalist Church services was required by boarding students until the 1970s and school meetings included the singing of Christian hymns. In the early twentieth century, Deerfield's fortune sharply rebounded with the appointment of Frank Boyden as Headmaster (1902-1968). The prestige enjoyed by the school today is a direct result of the foundations he laid over seven decades, including having trained scores of men as teachers and headmasters in their own right. His success would not have been possible without the support and assistance of his wife,Helen Childs Boyden. After 66 years of serving Deerfield, Frank Boyden retired in 1968. Boyden's long career and legacy at Deerfield are reviewed in The Headmaster, (1966) by Deerfield alumnus and writer John McPhee. In 1989, the Academy reestablished co-education, which Boyden had discontinued during the 1940s. Eric Widmer '57 served as headmaster from 1994 to 2006. He leaves to assume the position of Founding Headmaster for King's Academy in Madaba, Jordan. King Abdullah II, a member of the class of 1980, is modeling the school after Deerfield . It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. List of Deerfield Heads of School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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