Portsmouth Abbey School
Encyclopedia
Portsmouth Abbey School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12, located in Portsmouth, Rhode Island
. Founded by the Benedictine
monks of Portsmouth Abbey
in 1926 as Portsmouth Priory
School, the school offered a classical education to boys. Using the British
"public" school model
, the Priory School employed a form system, and supplemented a student's education with athletics after classes. Portsmouth's education has emphasized the classics
. In modern times, it has included a humanities
curriculum as part of a student's fourth form, or sophomore, year. The school is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
.
The school has one full four-year academic merit scholarship, for applicants with test scores in the 90th percentile or above. There have been annual scholarships for students with test scores in the 80th percentile or above.
The school's campus
is located on over 500 acres (2 km²) on the shores of Narragansett Bay
. Buildings were designed by Pietro Belluschi
.
In 2000, a parcel of the school's land was leased to a golf club.
during the American Revolution
. In 1864 Amos Smith, a Providence
financier, built what is now known as the Manor House and created a gentleman's farm
on the site with the help of architect Richard Upjohn
. After buying the Manor House and surrounding land in 1918, Dom Leonard Sargent of Boston
, a convert from the Episcopal Church
, founded Portsmouth Priory on October 18, 1918. The priory was founded as, and remains, a house of the English Benedictine Congregation
. It is one of only three American houses in the congregation, and maintains a unique connection with sister schools in England, including Ampleforth College
and Downside School
.
The school was founded by John Hugh Diman, a monk
at the Portsmouth Priory, and a former Episcopalian. Portsmouth was not Diman's first school. In 1896, Diman founded Diman's School for Small Boys - later, St. George's School
- in Newport, Rhode Island
. In 1912, aware that St. George's School catered to the sons of more affluent families and eager to provide educational opportunities to working-class students, Diman founded the Diman Vocational School in Fall River, MA. A conversion
experience
brought Diman to Catholicism
and ultimately to the Benedictine
s that were just beginning a priory
in Portsmouth. After joining the Order of Saint Benedict
, Diman was again moved to found a school. In 1926, Diman founded the Portsmouth Priory School, which would be redesignated as Portsmouth Abbey
School - indicating the increased size of its monastic community - in 1969.
. Its enrollment totals over 350 students, living at home and in seven residential houses. The school's endowment as of fiscal year 2005 was approximately $30,000,000. Tuition for boarding students was $47,000; day student tuition was $31,000.
Internet access is available in computer labs and all House libraries. The average size for a class is 12 to 14 students. Clubs include Amnesty International
, the Appalachia Service Project, The Beacon (the student newspaper), The Raven (the art and literary magazine), Math League, Future Problem Solvers, Big Brothers and Big Sisters
, Community Service Projects, Debate Club, The Gregorian (yearbook), Model United Nations, Red Key (campus tour guides), Social Committee, and Student Council
. The school also has visual and performing art programs, with a fine arts center, a still photography lab, art gallery (which alternatively displays traveling exhibits and selected student work), drama program, annual musical, and private music lessons.
The school has a radio station, WJHD
90.7 FM.
In 2006, the school installed a Vestas
V47-660 kW wind turbine
, the first such project in Rhode Island
, to provide more than half of the school's electricity.
Portsmouth Abbey is a member of the Eastern Independent League
and has occasional contests against ISL (Independent School League
) schools and other non-league boarding and day schools in New England. The Abbey's rivals include St. George's School
and Pomfret School
. It has a sailing
team, and track & field teams, and a football
team.
"George's Monday," a day of athletic competition with St. George's School
is a major event. The school with a higher margin of success in varsity sports takes the Diman Cup, named for Father John Hugh Diman, founder of both schools, and is buried at Portsmouth Abbey.
Another traditional rival is with the varsity boys' soccer teams of the Abbey's sister school, St. Anselm's Abbey School
of Washington, DC.
In the center of the school campus is a large quadrangle
used exclusively for commencement exercises on which students and faculty are not allowed to walk. This "Holy Lawn" is an unwritten school rule that has no confirmed story of origin. Its name likely derives from the lawn's location in front of the Abbey Church of St. Gregory the Great. In 2000, a student film series produced a clip of a student running across the lawn from the perspective of a monastery security camera. The Abbot
made a cameo appearance in which he pushed a button that sent a bolt of lighting from the sky, electrocuting the student. The clip celebrated the tongue-in-cheek mythology of the lawn's tradition.
Another school tradition is one required year of Latin
.
, produced by Alloy Entertainment
, was partially filmed at Portsmoth Abbey School
Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Portsmouth is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,389 at the 2010 U.S. Census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water. Most of its land area lies on Aquidneck...
. Founded by the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks of Portsmouth Abbey
Portsmouth Abbey
Portsmouth Abbey is a monastery of the Roman Catholic English Benedictine Congregation in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The Abbey was founded on 18th October, 1918 by the Bostonian, Dom Leonard Sargent, as a priory of Downside Abbey. Its monks run the Portsmouth Abbey School....
in 1926 as Portsmouth Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
School, the school offered a classical education to boys. Using the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
"public" school model
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
, the Priory School employed a form system, and supplemented a student's education with athletics after classes. Portsmouth's education has emphasized the classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
. In modern times, it has included a humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
curriculum as part of a student's fourth form, or sophomore, year. The school is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode Island and the counties of Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket in the state...
.
The school has one full four-year academic merit scholarship, for applicants with test scores in the 90th percentile or above. There have been annual scholarships for students with test scores in the 80th percentile or above.
The school's campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
is located on over 500 acres (2 km²) on the shores of Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
. Buildings were designed by Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi was an American architect, a leader of the Modern Movement in architecture, and was responsible for the design of over one thousand buildings....
.
In 2000, a parcel of the school's land was leased to a golf club.
History
The school and monastery are located on land originally owned by the Freeborn family beginning in the 1650s. The land was later owned by the Anthony family, and in 1778 it was the site of the Battle of Rhode IslandBattle of Rhode Island
The Battle of Rhode Island, also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Siege of Newport, took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. In 1864 Amos Smith, a Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
financier, built what is now known as the Manor House and created a gentleman's farm
Gentleman's farm
A gentleman's farm is an extremely small or non-operative farm. They are generally small acreages that are not used to produce large amounts of food, grain, or livestock for major markets. Gentleman's farms are also used as hobby farms, for horse rearing, or as bed and breakfast establishments...
on the site with the help of architect Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
. After buying the Manor House and surrounding land in 1918, Dom Leonard Sargent of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, a convert from the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
, founded Portsmouth Priory on October 18, 1918. The priory was founded as, and remains, a house of the English Benedictine Congregation
English Benedictine Congregation
The English Benedictine Congregation comprises autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation....
. It is one of only three American houses in the congregation, and maintains a unique connection with sister schools in England, including Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
and Downside School
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent school for children aged 11 to 18, located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, between Norton Radstock and Shepton Mallet in Somerset, south west England. It is attached to Downside Abbey...
.
The school was founded by John Hugh Diman, a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
at the Portsmouth Priory, and a former Episcopalian. Portsmouth was not Diman's first school. In 1896, Diman founded Diman's School for Small Boys - later, St. George's School
St. George's School, Newport
St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...
- in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
. In 1912, aware that St. George's School catered to the sons of more affluent families and eager to provide educational opportunities to working-class students, Diman founded the Diman Vocational School in Fall River, MA. A conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
experience
Experience
Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event....
brought Diman to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and ultimately to the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
s that were just beginning a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in Portsmouth. After joining the Order of Saint Benedict
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
, Diman was again moved to found a school. In 1926, Diman founded the Portsmouth Priory School, which would be redesignated as Portsmouth Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
School - indicating the increased size of its monastic community - in 1969.
Modern times
Today the school, often referred to as "the Abbey," has students from 17 nations and a number of statesU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
. Its enrollment totals over 350 students, living at home and in seven residential houses. The school's endowment as of fiscal year 2005 was approximately $30,000,000. Tuition for boarding students was $47,000; day student tuition was $31,000.
Internet access is available in computer labs and all House libraries. The average size for a class is 12 to 14 students. Clubs include Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the Appalachia Service Project, The Beacon (the student newspaper), The Raven (the art and literary magazine), Math League, Future Problem Solvers, Big Brothers and Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
, Community Service Projects, Debate Club, The Gregorian (yearbook), Model United Nations, Red Key (campus tour guides), Social Committee, and Student Council
Student council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
. The school also has visual and performing art programs, with a fine arts center, a still photography lab, art gallery (which alternatively displays traveling exhibits and selected student work), drama program, annual musical, and private music lessons.
The school has a radio station, WJHD
WJHD
WJHD is a non-profit non-commercial educational high school radio station broadcasting from a studio located in the school's science building. Licensed to Portsmouth, Rhode Island, USA, the station serves the Aquidneck Island area...
90.7 FM.
In 2006, the school installed a Vestas
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
V47-660 kW wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
, the first such project in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, to provide more than half of the school's electricity.
Athletics
In addition to the golf course next door available for use by the faculty and by the golf team, the school's athletic facilities include eight squash courts and a fitness center, a six-lane, all-weather track, nine tennis courts, an indoor ice hockey rink, two gymnasiums, and multiple outdoor playing fields.Portsmouth Abbey is a member of the Eastern Independent League
Eastern Independent League
The Eastern Independent League is composed of twelve New England preparatory schools that compete athletically and academically. The EIL's twelve members compete in a number of sports in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference ....
and has occasional contests against ISL (Independent School League
Independent School League (Boston Area)
The Independent School League is composed of sixteen New England preparatory schools that compete athletically and academically. Founded in 1948, the ISL's sixteen member compete in eighteen sports in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference...
) schools and other non-league boarding and day schools in New England. The Abbey's rivals include St. George's School
St. George's School, Newport
St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...
and Pomfret School
Pomfret School
Pomfret School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States for grades 9 through 12 plus a post-graduate year. Pomfret School was founded in 1894, on the principles of intellectual rigor and the development of character...
. It has a sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
team, and track & field teams, and a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team.
"George's Monday," a day of athletic competition with St. George's School
St. George's School, Newport
St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...
is a major event. The school with a higher margin of success in varsity sports takes the Diman Cup, named for Father John Hugh Diman, founder of both schools, and is buried at Portsmouth Abbey.
Another traditional rival is with the varsity boys' soccer teams of the Abbey's sister school, St. Anselm's Abbey School
St. Anselm's Abbey School
St. Anselm's Abbey School is an all boys's preparatory school for grades six through twelve in Washington D.C.. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington...
of Washington, DC.
Traditions
The school has a number of traditions, such as a six-day week with classes on Saturdays.In the center of the school campus is a large quadrangle
Quadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
used exclusively for commencement exercises on which students and faculty are not allowed to walk. This "Holy Lawn" is an unwritten school rule that has no confirmed story of origin. Its name likely derives from the lawn's location in front of the Abbey Church of St. Gregory the Great. In 2000, a student film series produced a clip of a student running across the lawn from the perspective of a monastery security camera. The Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
made a cameo appearance in which he pushed a button that sent a bolt of lighting from the sky, electrocuting the student. The clip celebrated the tongue-in-cheek mythology of the lawn's tradition.
Another school tradition is one required year of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Notable teachers and alumni
- Robert F. KennedyRobert F. KennedyRobert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
, U.S. Senator from New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 65th U.S. Attorney General, brother of President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Attended, did not graduate. - U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) 1962–2009. Younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Attended, did not graduate.
- Composer Alvin LucierAlvin LucierAlvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
- U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL), 1999–2005.
- U.S. Representative Phil EnglishPhil EnglishPhilip Sheridan "Phil" English served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 - 2009 from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, representing the state's 3rd Congressional district....
(R-PA) 3rd District, 1995–2009. - E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist and Senior Fellow at the Brookings InstitutionBrookings InstitutionThe Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
. - John E. Pepper, Jr.John E. Pepper, Jr.John E. Pepper, Jr. serves as chief executive officer of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and chairman of the board of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, he served as vice president of finance and administration at Yale University from January 2004 to December 2005...
, former Chairman of the Procter & GambleProcter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
Company, Chairman of The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
effective January 1, 2007. - R. F. Patrick CroninR. F. Patrick CroninRobert Francis Patrick Cronin, FRCPC, FACP, FRCP was a cardiologist, researcher, professor, and healthcare consultant who served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University from 1972 to 1977. Dr. Cronin became widely recognized for his work in developing countries...
, 1942, Dean of Faculty of Medicine at McGill UniversityMcGill UniversityMohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
(1972–1977). - John Gregory DunneJohn Gregory DunneJohn Gregory Dunne was an American novelist, screenwriter and literary critic.-Life:He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and was a younger brother of author Dominick Dunne. He suffered from a severe stutter and took up writing to express himself. Eventually he learned to speak normally by...
. Novelist, screenwriter, and literary critic. - William A. DembskiWilliam A. DembskiWilliam Albert "Bill" Dembski is an American proponent of intelligent design, well known for promoting the concept of specified complexity...
, American mathematician, philosopher, and theologian; proponent of concept of intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
. Left the Abbey before graduating to attend the University of Chicago in 1977; was awarded his honorary diploma upon delivery of the 1988 Dom Luke Childs lecture at Portsmouth Abbey. - Benedict FitzgeraldBenedict FitzgeraldBenedict Fitzgerald is an American screenwriter who co-wrote the screenplay for The Passion of the Christ with Mel Gibson. His other writing credits include a television screenplay of Moby-Dick in 1998 and Wise Blood in 1979....
, American screenwriter. - Christopher Buckley, 1970, American political satirist, son of William F. Buckley Jr..
- Father Jonathan DeFeliceJonathan DeFeliceFather Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B. is the President of New England's third oldest Catholic college, Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Growing up in Bristol, Rhode Island, he graduated from Portsmouth Abbey School in 1965, and then attended Saint Anselm College, earning a bachelors...
, 1965 graduate – he is President of Saint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm CollegeSaint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
and is founder of the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities. - William RuckelshausWilliam RuckelshausWilliam Doyle Ruckelshaus is an American attorney and, several times, U.S. government official. He served as the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, was subsequently acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and then Deputy Attorney General of the United States...
, first Administrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyAdministrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyThe Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency, and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The Administrator is...
, later became FBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Director and U.S. Deputy Attoney General - Charlie DayCharlie DayCharles Peckham "Charlie" Day is an American television and film actor, from Middletown, Rhode Island, best known for playing Charlie Kelly on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia".-Early life:...
, actor. - Michael KolowichMichael KolowichMichael Edmund Kolowich is an entrepreneur, new media and internet content entrepreneur, and documentary filmmaker. He is founder and CEO of KnowledgeVision Systems Incorporated, is executive producer of DigiNovations, a multimedia production company which he founded in Concord, Massachusetts,...
, 1970, documentary filmmaker and Internet entrepreneur - Knut Ansgar NelsonKnut Ansgar NelsonKnut Ansgar Nelson was a Danish-born convert to Roman Catholicism who served as bishop of Stockholm from 1957 to 1962.-Life:...
, bishop of Stockholm, taught classicsClassicsClassics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at the school.
In Popular Culture
The 2008 movie The Clique (film)The Clique (film)
The Clique is a direct-to-DVD film based on the popular teen novel series by author Lisi Harrison. The film is produced by Alloy Entertainment, released through Tyra Banks' company Bankable Productions and is a production of Warner Premiere with Tyra Banks as executive producer. Filming began in...
, produced by Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment is a book-packaging division of the Alloy Media + Marketing company—an American provider of media programs. Alloy is a leading producer of "chick lit"-style novels created for teenage and young adult audiences...
, was partially filmed at Portsmoth Abbey School