Ebenezer Fitch

Ebenezer Fitch (September 26, 1756 – March 21, 1833) was an American Calvinist clergyman and educator. He was the first president of Williams College.

Biography Born in Norwich, Connecticut, Fitch graduated as valedictorian from Yale College in 1777. The American Revolutionary War was ongoing at the time, but because Fitch was a student and then resident tutor (1780–1783) at Yale, he was exempted from the military draft then in effect. He later tried his hand at business, but was largely unsuccessful, and was invited in 1790 to move to Williamstown, Massachusetts, and serve as preceptor of a new free academy for boys. His siblings included Jabez G. Fitch, who served as U.S. Marshal for Vermont.