Boston Latin School and the Birth of Public Education in America
Founded in 1635, Boston Latin School is the oldest public school in the United States. Here is how it started and what it has meant for the city.
Boston has many claims to being first, but few are as lasting as this one. In 1635, just five years after the town was founded, Boston’s residents voted to support a schoolmaster for the teaching of children. The result was Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the United States and the oldest existing school of any kind in the country.
A Puritan priority
The Puritans who settled Boston placed a high value on literacy. They believed people should be able to read the Bible for themselves, and they needed educated leaders for their churches and colony. A school was one of the first public institutions they created.
The school was modeled on English grammar schools, with a curriculum built around Latin and Greek. Students who did well were prepared for college, and Harvard College, founded in 1636, drew many of its early students from Boston Latin.
Famous students
Over its long history, the school has educated many well-known figures. Among them:
- Five signers of the Declaration of Independence, including John Hancock and Samuel Adams.
- Benjamin Franklin, who attended but left without graduating.
- The minister Cotton Mather and the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson.
- Many later public servants, scientists, artists and civic leaders.
Where it stood
The school’s first home was on what became School Street, which is named for it. Today a colorful sidewalk mosaic near Old City Hall marks the site, and it is a stop on the Freedom Trail. A statue of Benjamin Franklin stands nearby.
The school moved several times as the city grew. Since the 1920s, it has been located on Avenue Louis Pasteur in the Fenway area.
A changing school
For most of its history, Boston Latin admitted only boys. It began admitting girls in 1972. Like Boston’s other exam schools, its admissions process has been the subject of public debate over the years, especially regarding fairness and access for students from every neighborhood. The school and the city have revised admissions policies more than once.
The school still emphasizes a rigorous classical education, including Latin, alongside modern subjects.
Why it matters beyond Boston
The founding of Boston Latin was part of a broader commitment in Massachusetts to public education. In 1647, the colony passed a law requiring towns of a certain size to provide schools, one of the earliest such laws in the colonies. In the 1800s, Horace Mann, as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, helped build the modern common school system that influenced public education across the United States.
When you pass the mosaic on School Street, it is worth stopping for a moment. That small marker represents an idea that shaped the country: that a community has a responsibility to educate its children, and that public schools are part of what makes a free society work.
