History
Maria H. (Bissell) Hotchkiss founded the school in 1891 to prepare young men for Yale University. The first day of instruction was October 18, 1892. Maria originally had aspirations for the school to serve underprivileged students, and the original charter provided some scholarships, and reserved space for academically gifted Lakeville boys (regardless of family income). Maria Hotchkiss was the widow of Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, who founded the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, made famous by the use of its machine guns in World War I . This led to a nickname for the school, "son of a gun".
The current Head of School is Malcolm McKenzie, former principal at Atlantic College in Wales. McKenzie is a Rhodes Scholar, with degrees from the Universities of Cape Town, Oxford and Lancaster.
Read more about this topic: Hotchkiss School
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