- Montgomery Bell Academy
-
Coordinates: 36°07′44″N 86°50′13″W / 36.1289469°N 86.8369443°W
Montgomery Bell Academy Motto "Fortitudo Per Scientiam." Established 1866; trace origins to 1788 Type Private all-male college-preparatory Gender Male Headmaster Bradford Gioia Students 713 Grades 7-12 Location 4001 Harding Road,
Nashville, Tennessee, USAColors Cardinal and Silver Nickname Big Red Mascot Byron Newspaper The Bell Ringer Website www.montgomerybell.edu Montgomery Bell Academy (often referred to as MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The school ideal is "Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete." Montgomery Bell Academy is noted for a large number of National Merit and other scholarship winners. Like many traditional prep schools, MBA is governed by an honor code, which has been run by the student body since 1945.
Contents
History
The Ball Building and the Massey Building.
The Patrick Wilson Library.MBA was established in the 1866 in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It is the successor to two well-known schools, the Western Military Institute, which Sam Davis, the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy", attended, and the former University of Nashville. The school's board still operates under the corporate title, "Board of Trustees of the University of Nashville", although that institution was otherwise disbanded in the early 20th century.
From 1870 to 1875, former Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith was the chancellor of the University of Nashville, which operated both a two year college operating as the University of Nashville, and MBA, the preparatory high school and grammar school. In 1875 a financial crisis and a timely donation from the Peabody Fund caused an organizational separation of the university and the preparatory school. The university was operated under a new board of trustees and used the proceeds of the Peabody Fund to operate the university under the name of Peabody Normal College, later called the George Peabody College for Teachers. The board of trustees of the University of Nashville continued to operate MBA as a preparatory school.
In 1881, the campus of MBA was moved to an estate which was at the time well west of downtown Nashville which was previously known as "Totomoi". The military nature of one of the predecessors notwithstanding, under its current name it has always operated as a civilian institution, as a day school rather than a boarding school. The school is named in honor of Montgomery Bell, a Pennsylvania native who made his fortune as the early 19th century "ironmaster" of Middle Tennessee and whose will endowed it, with the stipulation that it forever be an all-male institution. That this practice has survived into the 21st century has proved to be quite startling to some, but in recent decades there has been little local sentiment in favor of a change since a number of excellent girls-only and coeducational academic options have developed in Nashville. Probably more of its graduates go on to attend Vanderbilt (down to 7% in recent years) than any other university, but no single institution of higher learning attracts a very large proportion of the graduates.
The 1989 motion picture Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams, depicts a school patterned on Montgomery Bell Academy. The Alumni Department of Montgomery Bell Academy, according to a website [1] about the film, has stated:
- The screenplay for the movie Dead Poets Society was written by Mr. Thomas Schulman, a 1968 graduate of Montgomery Bell Academy. The teacher, portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie, was based on one of Mr. Schulman's teachers during his time as a student at MBA, Mr. Sam Pickering. The events in the movie, however, are fictional.
MBA also has extensive exchange links with other boys' schools throughout the English-speaking world; arrangements are in place with Eton College and Winchester College in England, Kearsney College and Michaelhouse in South Africa, and The Southport School, The King's School and, most recently, Melbourne Grammar School in Australia and Christ's College, Canterbury in New Zealand. Winchester College and Eton College demonstrate similarities to MBA through discipline, dress code, and having an all-male student body.
The Montgomery Bell Academy Varsity Football team has a unique history in the state of Tennessee as well as nationally. Having over 100 years of experience to its name, the football program has enjoyed remarkable success at the highest level of competition. Alumni in the NFL include: Bill Wade, Hunter Hillenmyer, Ingle Martin, Will Bartholomew, and Tom Santi. MBA has been nationally recognized several times for its success on the gridiron ranging from 9th in the nation in 2003 to, most recently, 19th in the nation in 2007 with an undefeated 13-0 season. "Roll red" is the battle cry and motto of the sports teams.
In recent years, the MBA Cross Country team has proven to be an elite program in the state of Tennessee and on the national stage. They have won 2 consecutive State Championships, and in 2010 they became the first team in TN history to sweep the State meet.
Notable alumni
The front of the Davis Building during school dismissal.- Dr. Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
- Dr. Thomas Frist, founder of Hospital Corporation of America
- Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews, aviation pioneer, World War II European commander for whom Andrews Air Force Base is named
- Robin Beard, former member of U.S. House of Representatives
- Madison Smartt Bell, novelist
- R.A. Dickey, professional baseball pitcher
- Jacob M. Dickinson, U.S. Secretary of War
- Frank Drowota, former Chief Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
- Morgan Entrekin, Grove/Atlantic Inc. president
- J. Frederick Essary (1881-1942), journalist
- Jesse Hill Ford, novelist
- Hunter Hillenmeyer, Chicago Bears linebacker
- John Jay Hooker, attorney, entrepreneur, perennial candidate and political gadfly.
- Madison Jones, novelist
- Alan LeQuire, sculptor
- Ingle Martin, Football player (NFL Quarterback)
- Samuel Pickering, essayist
- Admiral Joseph W. Prueher, a former Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command and Ambassador to China.
- Grantland Rice, early 20th century American sportswriter
- Brandt Snedeker, PGA Tour Golfer
- Thomas Schulman, author of Dead Poets Society
- Richard Speight, Jr., Band of Brothers actor
- Caldwell Tanner, cartoonist and illustrator, contributor to CollegeHumor
- Ralph Totten, diplomat, first U.S. ambassador to South Africa
- Bill Wade, Pro Bowl quarterback, first overall selection in 1952 NFL Draft
- Kyle Hatcher, U.S. Diplomat
The rear view of the Carter Building.
The front of the Wallace Building.References
- Parks, Joseph Howard, General Edmund Kirby Smith, CSA, LSU Press, 1954.
External links
- MBA website
- Official Facebook page
- Official Twitter feed
- Official YouTube channel
- Recent Graduates' College Choices
- Charity Navigator rating of MBA
- Privatebug.org page on MBA
- Richard Speight address to MBA students about his role in Band of Brothers[dead link]
- MBA Football Historical Scores (1899-Present)
Categories:- High schools in Tennessee
- Preparatory schools in Tennessee
- Schools in Nashville, Tennessee
- Private schools in Tennessee
- Educational institutions established in 1866
- Boys' schools in the United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
