Lovell, John
Lovell, John
LOVELL, JOHN. (1710–1778). Loyalist. Massachusetts. Born in Boston on 1 April 1710, Lovell graduated from Harvard in 1728 and became an usher of the South Grammar (later Boston Latin) School the next year. In 1734 he was named headmaster and continued in this post until the British military authorities closed the school on 19 April 1775. Over the years he taught many boys who would later become leaders of the Revolutionary struggle, including Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, John Hancock, and Henry Knox. When the British withdrew to Nova Scotia in March 1776, he chose loyalty to the crown and followed them to Halifax, where he died two years later. His son James, who chose the other side, was held prisoner there briefly by the British in 1776.
SEE ALSO Lovell, James.
revised by Michael Bellesiles