Sherman Day Thacher
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Sherman Day Thacher | |
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Born | Townsend Prize John Addison Porter Prize | November 6, 1861
Honors | Master of Arts (honorary) from Yale University |
Sherman Day Thacher, (November 6, 1861 - August 5, 1931), was the founder and headmaster of The Thacher School at Ojai, California.
Early life, education and degrees
Thacher was the son of Elizabeth Baldwin (Sherman) Thacher, granddaughter of
Thacher attended
During his college career, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon, Psi Upsilon, and Skull and Bones. In 1926, Occidental College of Los Angeles made him an honorary charter member of the Delta chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Career
After graduation, Thacher moved to California and took up 160 acres (0.65 km2) of government land to plant an orange grove. In 1889, he founded the Thacher School at Ojai, California, serving as its headmaster.[2] In 1895, his brother William came to work with the school. He remained as headmaster until his retirement in June, 1931.
During his career, he held a number of other positions, honorary and actual. From 1898 to 1912, he was trustee of the San Antonio District School. From 1908 to 1922, he was president of the
From 1918 to 1919, he was the vice president of the Yale Club of Southern California and represented it on the Alumni Board at Yale after 1920. In 1924, he was a member of the Yale Committee for Participation in the Restoration of the Library of the University of Louvain
Active in civics as well, he chaired the executive committee of the Ojai Valley Men's League from 1910 to 1920, and in 1912 chaired a standing committee of the Ojai Board of Trade. In 1918, he served the local Exemption Board for
He was an honorary trustee of the National Society of Mental Hygiene. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Personal life
On June 24, 1896, Thacher wed Eliza Seely Blake in
The couple shared nine children. In addition to three sons who died in infancy, they had Elizabeth, George Blake, Anson Stiles, Helen Sherman, Harriet Janet, and Sherman Day, Jr. All three of their sons, George Blake. Anson Stiles, and Sherman Day Jr., carried on the family Yale tradition, in 1925, 1927 and 1936 respectively. (George Blake would go on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1927.) Two of their daughters, Helen Sherman and Harriet Janet, attended Smith College (1930, 1934). Their eldest child, Elizabeth, graduated from the University of California in 1920.
Thacher was 69 years old when he died, on August 5, 1931, of operative shock. He left behind his wife, three sons, and three daughters. A
His great-great-grandson, Mateo Thacher, graduated in June 2020, and served as the Thacher School Chair (or head of the student body).
References
- ^ "Record Editors". The Yale Banner. New Haven: Thomas Penney and G. D. Pettee. 1877. p. 182.
- ^ "History and Heritage". The Thacher School. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
External links
- Yale Obituary Record, 1931-32, pages 65-66
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Charles Thompson Blake Papers (Father-in-law)
- Sherman Day Thacher, Tribalism & Community
- Riding and Caring for Horses a Key Part of Curriculum
- Great-Great Grandson Mateo Thacher