Groton School history

On September 15, 1896, Franklin set off with his parents for Groton, in his parents' private railcar.

1899 Headmaster Peabody invited Booker T. Washington, a freed slave, to speak on campus.

In 1900 Roosevelt entered Harvard University, where he spent most of his time on extracurricular activities and a strenuous social life; his academic record was undistinguished.

The gym (now the Dining Hall) opened in 1903.

1904 President Theodore Roosevelt, a close friend and relative by marriage of Endicott Peabody’s, spoke at Groton’s commencement.

The distant cousins became engaged during Roosevelt’s final year at Harvard, and they were married on March 17, 1905.

That opportunity came in 1910, when Democratic Party leaders of Dutchess county, New York, persuaded him to undertake an apparently futile attempt to win a seat in the state senate.

By 1911 Roosevelt was supporting progressive New Jersey Gov.

For his work on behalf of Wilson, Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary of the navy in March 1913.

He himself was a 1918 graduate of Groton School; 15 members of his family were alumni.

1920 By 1920, Groton School had grown to about twenty-two faculty members and 180 students.

1929 During the Depression, Groton School, thanks to a recent bequest, was able to offer aid to families who no longer could afford the tuition.

1931 When Frankin Delano Roosevelt was governor of New York, he delivered Groton’s Prize Day speech.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States (1933–45). He was the only president elected to the office four times.

Peabody served as headmaster of the school for over fifty years, until his retirement in 1940.

Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945.

1952 Known for doing what simply was moral and right, Headmaster Crocker oversaw the admission of the first black student to Groton.

After 25 years as headmaster at Groton School, he retired in June 1965.

1974 The Reverend Rowland Cox became headmaster as the school was about to become coeducational.

1975 The school welcomed the first female students to campus.

From 1977–78, Peter Camp was acting headmaster.

2005 The Campbell Performing Arts Center, designed by architect Graham Gund, opened.

A South African, Temba Maqubela, became the headmaster in July 2013.

The GRAIN (GRoton Affordability and INclusion) initiative, begun in 2014, froze tuition for three years and ensured that no applicant would be turned away for financial reasons.

2015 The newly renovated and expanded Schoolhouse opened.

2017 On Christmas Eve, GRoton Affordability and INclusion (GRAIN) hit its $50 million milestone.