John Thomas Leyden

     John Thomas Leyden was born on 9 July 1935 at Laconia, New Hampshire.^1,2 He was the son of Peter Leyden Jr. and Elizabeth Bridges.^1,2 According to his obituary "He graduated from Mount Hermon School and received bachelor's and master's degrees from Colgate University. Mr. Leyden served in the Army before entering the education field in 1961 at Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, Mass., as a history teacher. He later became assistant to the headmaster and director of admissions there. In 1967, he became headmaster of the Good Hope School on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and returned to Northfield-Mount Hermon School in 1973 as assistant to the headmaster and director of external affairs. He was elected headmaster of Hebron Academy in 1977. Mr. Leyden was a member of the Board of Overseers of Bustin's Island and trustee of the Hebron Community Baptist Church. He was appointed tot he Select Advisory Committee of Private Schools by the Maine commissioner of education and cultural services. A recent president of the Maine Association of Independent Schools and newly-elected president of the Independent Schools of Northern New England, he was also a member of the National Association of Secondary Schools.¹" John Thomas Leyden died on Tuesday, 1 October 1985 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, at age 50 years, 2 months and 22 days. He had been stricken with a heart attack, while attending the Conference of New England Educators in that town.^1,3