# Did you go to a school named after a historic figure? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782 "2016-01-31T21:06:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/61 "2016-02-01T13:47:54Z")
Van Allen elementary. I always knew what he was famous for but had always assumed you needed to be dead to get a school named after you. Just looked at his wikipedia entry and it turns out he only died ten years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/62 "2016-02-01T14:09:24Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > One of the places I went to was Calvin Coolidge Grade school. I guess nobody talked in class, huh? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/63 "2016-02-01T15:01:28Z")
The school I went to for kindergarten was named after Pope John XXIII. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/64 "2016-02-01T15:38:39Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > No. This seems to be a peculiarly American thing. Not really; my high school in Sweden was named after [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_De_Geer_(1587%E2%80%931652)). ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/65 "2016-02-01T15:57:27Z")
The high school I attended is named after what is considered the most useless president this country has ever had, Franklin Pierce. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/66 "2016-02-01T17:29:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I grew up in a rural area where each town had its own school so the schools were just named after the town. I think naming individual schools is something that happens more in cities where you have multiple schools and need to either name or number them to distinguish them. (Although there will now probably be dozens of people posting examples of rural schools named after people.) I’m the same way. Each grade school and HS were named after the towns. Schools with names like “Warren G Harding” or “Horace Mann” always seemed like “big city” names. At least we didn’t have “PS12” or similar! ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/67 "2016-02-01T17:31:42Z")
My elementary school was named for an early president, although that name was never used. It had been an existing elementary school that was taken over by the town’s largest university and used as an experimental school for its education department. Everyone called it “University name” elementary school, but technically it was still named after the president. My high school was named for a Catholic saint. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/68 "2016-02-01T17:45:14Z")
My elementary school was named after one of the adjacent neighborhoods. The neighborhood was not named after a person. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/69 "2016-02-01T18:39:13Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/70 "2016-02-01T18:50:11Z")
In West Texas, my junior high was named after a noted Indian fighter and my high school after a Spanish explorer. The wife attended Chulalongkorn University for some of her graduate studies and was an assistant professor there for 30 years before retiring at the end of last year. Chulalongkorn was king from 1868-1910. (He was the little boy in _The King and I_.) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/71 "2016-02-01T18:51:40Z")
Well, no presidents or anyone with very wide name recognition but they are historic figures. I wanted to look up who these people were. St. Ambrose Catholic School, it and the church are named after [Aurelius Ambrosius, better known in English as Saint Ambrose, the bishop of Milan in 4th century AD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose). Plant Junior High School, named after Alfred E. Plant (1873-1931), a Board of Education member, insurance businessman and community leader in West Hartford, Connecticut. Plant JHS opened 1922, was closed in 1979 and the building now belongs to the [West Hartford Housing Authority](http://westhartfordha.org/properties/alfred-e-plant/) providing housing assistance. Hall High School, named after William Henry Hall (b. 1845), a teacher, principal and superintendent of schools in West Hartford from 1897-1922. West Hartford’s first high school, West Hartford High, was named after Hall in 1924. Cite [1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15198839#post15198839), [2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15200371#post15200371) From [West Hartford Public Schools - Names of the West Hartford Public Schools](https://www.westhartfordlibrary.org/research_tools/local_history/west_hartford/whps): > [@](#): > > Hall High School is named for William H. Hall, the principal of the town’s first high school which opened in 1872. Sometimes referred to as the town’s “grand old man of education,” William Hall was later superintendent of West Hartford schools and author of the first written history of the town. In 1924, at the age of 79, Hall laid the cornerstone for Hall High School, the building which is now the West Hartford Town Hall. The current Hall High School facility was built in 1970. Camp Geiger Staff Academy, Camp Geiger is named after [General Roy Stanley Geiger, the first US Marine to lead an army (WWII)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Geiger). ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/72 "2016-02-01T18:54:06Z")
I started out at Marie Curie, which is cool. Then I went on to some saints. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/73 "2016-02-01T20:28:10Z")
My elementary school was named after late 19th century novelist James Lane Allen and my high school was named after war hero and (according to my history teacher) braying ass General Lafayette. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/74 "2016-02-01T23:27:14Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Not really; my high school in Sweden was named after [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_De_Geer_(1587%E2%80%931652)). Actually, after I posted this I remembered [a school near where I grew up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McGlashan_College) which was named after its founder. He wasn’t really a “historical figure” but was a local rich guy. So let me amend that and say it’s _largely_ an American thing. ---
**Author:** ![Calla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Calla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calla)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/75 "2016-02-01T23:34:55Z")
Two of my schools were named after saints, one was named for the nearest major street, and I have no idea about the significance of the name of my last high school. The colleges were all named after their locations. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/76 "2016-02-01T23:44:25Z")
The high school I went to was named after a socialist farmer. I don’t know if was a historic figure to anyone other than socialist farmers. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/77 "2016-02-01T23:53:51Z")
I went to a middle school named for Schuyler Colfax. As far as I remember, in my three years there, no one ever explained to us who he was. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/78 "2016-02-02T00:03:17Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Just curious. > > I went to three: James Monroe, Abe Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. > mmm James Monroe? In the Logan Square neighborhood? ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/79 "2016-02-02T02:22:52Z")
Historical Figures: Frederick Douglas Elementary (5th grade) Daniel Morgan Middle School (1/2 of 6th) Saint: St Mary’s (a K-8 school but only went K-4) Locality: Hartland Elementary (the other half of 6th) Woodstock Union (8th) Random: All Saints (7th) Foxcroft (9-12) ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782/80 "2016-02-02T02:39:40Z")
Doh! I messed up my schools… I didn’t go to All Saints, I went to Sacred Heart. And I went to Sacred Heart for K-4 and St Mary’s for 7th. I don’t know if that is a sign of age or of how many schools I attended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-go-to-a-school-named-after-a-historic-figure/744782.md?page=5)