Thomas Thacher

Who was Thomas Thacher?

Thomas Thacher was a descendant of the Rev. Peter Thacher, the rector of St. Edmonds, Salisbury, England; and of his son, Thomas Thacher, who came to America in 1635, settled in Salem, Massachusetts, and later became the first minister of the Old South Church in Boston. His father, Thomas Anthony Thacher, LL D., was professor of Latin at Yale College from 1842 to 1886, and his mother, Elizabeth Thacher, was the daughter of Jeremiah Day, president of Yale from 1817 to 1846, and Olivia Day. On his mother's side he traced his ancestry to Robert Day, who emigrated from Ipswich, England in 1634, settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in a few years removed to Connecticut and helped to found Hartford.

Thomas Thacher prepared for college at the Hopkins Grammar School. He received a first prize for declamation in Sophomore year. His appointments were a high oration in Junior year and an oration in Senior year. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Skull and Bones, and Brothers in Unity.

After graduation he taught for a year in the Hopkins Grammar School, and then spent a year in graduate study at Yale University.