Porter, Noah, 1811-92, American educator and philosopher, b. Farmington, Conn., grad. Yale, 1831. He entered the ministry in 1836. In 1846 he became professor of moral philosophy and metaphysics at Yale and from 1871 to 1886 was 12th president of the university. As president he steadfastly opposed modern tendencies in education, urging the retention of Greek and Latin as the basis for the liberal arts course, the subordination of science to the humanities, and a prescribed curriculum rather than an elective system. He edited (1864, 1890) revised editions of Noah Webster's dictionary and wrote a number of educational and philosophical works, the most popular of which was The Human Intellect (1868).

Sarah Porter (August 17, 1813–February 18, 1900) was the American educator who founded Miss Porter's School for Girls.

She was born in Farmington, Connecticut to Rev. Noah Porter (1781-1866) and his wife, Mehitable "Hetty" Meigs Porter (1786-1874). She was educated at Farmington Academy, and, uncharacteristically for women of the time, studied privately with Yale College professors. She taught in Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania, and returned to Connecticut in 1847 to found a female counterpart to Simeon Hart's Academy for Boys. Initially she had only 25 students, but because of the school's expansive curriculum, including the sciences as well as the humanities, the daughters of the affluent soon made it their school of choice, and the school quickly expanded.

She was an opponent of women's suffrage but promoted other legal reforms for women.

Her older brother, Noah Porter, was President of Yale College from 1871 to 1886.

Miss Porter's School, still located in Farmington, continues to operate as a private college preparatory school for girls.

Links

Sarah Porter's entry at Connecticut's Women Hall of Fame