Edward Everett - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Everett was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to the Rev. Oliver Everett, a 1779 graduate of Harvard College, and Lucy Hill, the daughter of Alexander S. Hill of Philadelphia. He was a direct descendant of Richard Everett and first cousin to Congressman Horace Everett. He attended Boston Latin School and Phillips Exeter Academy and, at the age of 13, he was admitted to Harvard University. In 1811, at age 17, he graduated as the valedictorian of his class. He studied theology under the urging of the Rev. Joseph Stevens Buckminster, and was ordained pastor of the Brattle Street Church in Boston in 1814. But he soon gave up the pulpit for further studies and a post as professor of Greek literature.

By arrangement with Harvard, Everett spent two years in Europe, studying and traveling on full salary. He spent much of this time at the University of Göttingen in Germany, where he became the first American to receive a German Ph.D. in Prussia. He learned French, German, and Italian, and studied Roman law, archaeology, and Greek art.

He returned to Harvard in 1819, and took up his teaching duties. He hoped to implant the scholarly methods of Germany at Harvard, but after a few years became bored with drilling students in Greek grammar, and became active in politics.