William Woodbridge

William Woodbridge (September 14, 1755 – March 27, 1836) was an American educator and the first preceptor of Phillips Exeter Academy. He was especially interested in female education. After graduating from Yale College in 1780, he went on to make a living as a teacher, though he was also qualified to be a minister. In 1783, he was chosen to be the first preceptor of the newly created Phillips Exeter Academy. He also contributed to the Juvenile Rambler, a children's paper published in Boston, and wrote a book for children entitled The Dead Bird. He then married Ann Channing with whom he had a son, William Channing Woodbridge, a geographer, educational reformer, and textbook author. He then married Sarah Stiles, and finally Abigail (Wolcott) Butler. He died February 27, 1836, in Franklin, Connecticut, of apoplexy.