Claude Fuess
Claude Moore Fuess (January 12, 1885 – September 11, 1963) was an American author, historian, educator, and the 10th Headmaster of Phillips Academy Andover from 1933 to 1948. After attending Amherst College and earning a PhD at Columbia University, Fuess taught English at Phillips Academy from 1908 to 1933. As Headmaster he guided the school in a new era as it faced the Great Depression and Second World War. Concurrent with his teaching and position, Fuess led a writing career spanning several decades. He is credited as the author or editor of over 30 books and articles including biographies of Caleb Cushing, Calvin Coolidge, Rufus Choate, Daniel Webster, and Carl Schurz. Early life Family and ancestry Fuess was born on January 12, 1885, in Waterville, New York, to Louis Phillip Fuess and Helen Augusta Moore. His paternal grandfather Jacob Fuess was from Annweiler am Trifels, Germany in the Bavarian Palatinate. He fled Germany during the Revolution in 1848 and emigrated to the United States, landing in New Orleans and making his way to New York City. He had one younger brother named Harold L. Fuess, an active member of local government in and around Waterville including Town Clerk of Sangerfield, New York. Originally spelled Füsz, the family changed the spelling to Fuess due to its difficult pronunciation for Americans. According to Fuess, he and his family pronounce their name Fease. Oftentimes he would go by one his nicknames. Those he knew in high school and at Amherst College called him "Dutch." At Phillips Academy he was known as either "Jack" or "Claudie" or once Headmaster "B.D." (Bald Doctor). Someone even wrote the following poem titled "Fuess Please" in 1930 to illustrate the difficulty of his name: He'll exclaim, "Oh what's the use!" When he hears you utter "Fuess." And he'll like it even less If you say it's Mr. Fuess. If you want to hear him cuss Just be sure to call him Fuess. All his wonted calm he'll lose If perchance you murmur "Fuess"; But he'll thank you on his knees If you will but call him "Fuess." Despite such difficulty Fuess decided not to simplify his name because of the legal obstacles he would face and the honor it held to him personally and in Bavaria. Education Fuess was an avid reader at an early age. He played football for Waterville High School's first team and cycled for the school's first track team. Cycling events included half and one-mile races around a half-mile dirt track. He entered Amherst College in the autumn of 1901 at the age of 16 and graduated in 1905. While at Amherst he grew interests in forensics, debate, and public speaking. He continued to train for Amherst's cycling team but was unable to race when the New England Committee abolished the cycling races from its athletic program. He was a member of the fraternity Alpha Delta Phi. He took courses in debate, public speaking, and German. In the fall of 1905 he entered Columbia