Queer Places:
Groton School Chapel, 282 Farmers Row, Groton, MA 01450, United States
Harvard University (Ivy League), 2 Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA 02138

William Amory Gardner (December 3, 1863 - February 8, 1930), born in Boston on December 3, 1863, to Joseph Peabody Gardner and Harriet Sears Amory Gardner, grew up as part of a prominent Boston Brahmin family alongside his brothers, Joseph Peabody Gardner, Jr. and Augustus Peabody Gardner. His life took a sharp turn in 1875 when his father committed suicide while the family was traveling in Istanbul, leaving behind three young orphan sons. John Lowell "Jack" Gardner and his wife, Isabella Stewart Gardner, stepped in after losing their own son in 1863, adopting and raising William and his brothers as their own. Isabella's deep love of art, culture, literature, and travel heavily influenced William, especially during European trips such as their summer 1879 travels to London and France.

William prepared for college at Hopkinson's School and went on to graduate from Harvard University with the class of 1884, where he distinguished himself as a brilliant classicist and a member of the Alpha Delta Phi and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternities. Sharing his aunt's passion for exploration, he traveled extensively and grew deeply attached to Greece, once writing home that he had "been flying about + am becoming quite Greek." During his travels, he famously attempted to smuggle two ancient figurines out of Greece, only to discover later that they were fakes; in 1903, upon the opening of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, he gifted these replica pieces to his aunt, who placed them in the Raphael Room. His academic dedication culminated in his appointment to the Board of Trustees for the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1910, where he served for the rest of his life, and the 1908 publication of his book, In Greece With the Classics. His connection to the school was further commemorated by a portrait painted by Anders Zorn in 1899—commissioned by William to please his aunt, though William later admitted neither he nor his family liked it. After his death, the portrait made its way to Athens, where it remains.

Almost immediately following his graduation from Harvard, William identified himself with the newly founded Groton School, joining its faculty as a master in the Greek department and later teaching mathematics. Although he remained on the staff and served as a member of the Board of Trustees, he did little actual teaching in his final years. He shaped the campus profoundly, funding the creation of Groton's magnificent school chapels—including St. John's Chapel, built in moving memory of his brother Joseph, who had tragically committed suicide in 1886 after a failed romance. Alongside his academic contributions, William lived an eccentric and exotic lifestyle by Brahmin standards. He built a large estate on the school grounds and funded the construction of an eclectic complex he named the "Pleasure Dome," designed by architect R. B. Potter to house a concert hall, an indoor swimming pool, squash courts, and a small theater. He also donated an extensive collection of rare books to the institution, housed in the school's Gardner Library.

Outside of Groton, William maintained a high-profile social and professional footprint. He was a keen sportsman, sailor, and rider who owned a striking summer home at Pride's Crossing—a large stone, castle-like mansion overlooking Mingo Beach. His club memberships included the Somerset Tennis and Racquet Club, the Knickerbocker Club of New York, and both the Eastern and New York Yacht Clubs, alongside serving as a trustee of the Groton Public Library. Personally, he moved within elite circles that intersected deeply with prominent LGBTQ history, maintaining a close friendship and rumored romantic relationship with Ned Warren, the benefactor of the Museum of Fine Arts, and embodying an uninhibited, bohemian aesthetic that frequently scandalized and amused contemporaries alike.

William Amory Gardner passed away on February 8, 1930, at Groton, Massachusetts, of heart disease following a brief ten-day illness. Funeral services were held the following morning at the Groton School Chapel. He was survived by his niece, Mrs. William Gordon Means (Constance Gardner) of Philadelphia and the North Shore, who was the daughter of his late brother Augustus. William's legacy endures through his architectural contributions to Groton, his scholarship in classical studies, and his enduring impact on American education and the arts.

References:


The Hub of the Gay Universe: An LGBTQ History of Boston, Provincetown, and Beyond Paperback – April 1, 2019
by Russ López
The Crimson Letter: Harvard, Homosexuality, and the Shaping of American Culture Paperback – Illustrated, June 1, 2004
by Douglass Shand-Tucci

Other references:

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