Phillips Exeter Academy history

Phebe’s vision was posthumously realized on May 6, 1829, when Phillips Academy trustees opened Abbot Female Academy, later called Abbot Academy.

Finally, in 1879, he won a review of his case, a review that supported his claim of innocence.

However, all students were recalled after just 2 years (in 1881) due to mounting tensions between the United States and China, as well as growing concern that the students were becoming Americanized.

But it was not until 1886 that he was reappointed an army officer and placed, at his own request, on the retired list.

The Seminary moved to Cambridge in 1908, leaving behind much of what comprises the center of Phillips Academy’s present-day campus, including Pearson Hall (formerly Bartlet Chapel), Foxcroft Hall, and Bartlet Hall.

In November 1930, Harkness gave Exeter $5.8 million to support this initiative.

The school began admitting girls in 1970.

Andover became coeducational in 1973, when it merged with Abbot Academy, one of the first schools in New England to be founded for girls.

In 1996, to reflect the academy's coeducational status, a new gender-inclusive Latin inscription Hic Quaerite Pueri Puellaeque Virtutem et Scientiam ("Here, boys and girls, seek goodness and knowledge") was added over the main entrance to the Academy Building.