Eric Howlett - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Howlett was born in Miami, Florida, and raised on Long Island, New York, where he attended the progressive Roslyn High School. His mother, Margaret Mayorga, was the author of A Short History of the American Drama, which had been her master’s thesis and which became a standard reference in libraries. She originated and edited The Best One-Act Plays of 19xx, an annual series published variously by Dodd, Mead & Company, Samuel French and Little Brown from 1937 to 1961. Eric has no siblings and was encouraged very early by his mother who recognized his talent in math and science. She moved several times to ensure he would attend the best public school available at that time. As a senior in high school he was one of 40 Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalists, meeting Eleanor Roosevelt at the White House in 1944. He also received a full scholarship from Grumman Aircraft to any college or university in the country. He chose MIT, but left to serve in the US Navy from 1944 to 1946, returning to MIT and graduating in 1949 with an ScB in Physics. He has lived in the Boston area for most of his adult life (Newton, Massachusetts and Acton, Massachusetts).