Robert W. Welch, Jr. - Early Life

Early Life

Welch was born in rural Chowan County, North Carolina. As a child he was considered "gifted" receiving his early education at home from his mother, a school teacher. He enrolled in high school at the age of ten and was admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at the age of twelve. Welch was a fundamentalist Baptist and, by his own admission, was "insufferable" in his attempts to convert his fellow students. He later became a Unitarian, remaining so for most his life. Welch attended the United States Naval Academy and Harvard Law School but dropped out of both institutions before graduating. He would later assert this was because of his opposition to the political leanings of the instructors.