William Saltonstall


William Gurdon Saltonstall was an American educator and author, and the ninth principal of Phillips Exeter Academy.
Saltonstall was born in Milton, Massachusetts to the wealthy Saltonstall family, and was educated at Exeter, where he was a member of the class of 1924. He then attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he earned master's and law degrees and was a member of the Owl Club. He served as the principal of Exeter from 1946 to 1963, where he had previously taught history. Under him, the Lamont Gallery, the schools educational art museum was established. He was asked by President Kennedy to be the director of the Peace Corps in Nigeria in 1963. After two years, he left. He was a trustee of Colby College and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, and a former member of the Harvard Board of Overseers and United States Naval Academy Board of Visitors. He was a trustee of Educational Testing Service, and a president of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
William Saltonstall married Katharyn Saltonstall on September 22, 1931, with whom he had three daughters, Josephine Hetzeck, Katharyn Hok, and Deborah Twining, and two sons, William Saltonstall Jr., and Samuel Saltonstall. He held honorary degrees from several schools, including Williams College, Tufts University, Bowdoin College, Dartmouth College, Colby College, Princeton University, and University of New Hampshire. The Saltonstall Boathouse in Phillips Exeter is named after him. William Saltonstall died on December 18, 1989, in Lakeville, Massachusetts.

Published works