Isaac Newton Failor as portrayed by a student from the Immaculate Conception School of
Jamaica Estates, NY.
My name is Isaac Newton Failor and I was known as one of Richmond Hill’s foremost men, well known for my sterling qualities as a friend and a citizen.
I was born in Lima, Ohio on February 9, 1851. After graduating from Wesleyan University in Ohio I became president of one school and then principal of another. From 1892 to 1879 I became professor of mathematics at the Boy’s High School in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1897 I moved to Richmond Hill and became the superintendent of schools. Later I organized the Richmond Hill High School and was responsible for securing the land and monitoring the building of the school. Due to my love of astronomy our school was one of the first in the country to have a revolving dome observatory with a telescope imported from France. It 1914 it was decided by the students that the school newspaper would be officially called The Dome in recognition of the most striking feature of the building. The school was dedicated and opened on Wednesday April 11, 1900. A ceremony was held in our new auditorium and in the audience were friends, relatives of pupils and on the stage were seated many well-known citizens interested in educational matters.
I became the first principal of Richmond Hill High and remained in that post until 1917. I wrote a number of books on mathematics. Now I tend to the cultivation of my roses, dahlias and other flowers as I once tended to my students. From my Richmond Hill house I can often look up and see the magnificent dome of my old school.
Presented May 22, 2004 by The Richmond Hill Historical Society, Maple Grove Cemetery, and The Immaculate Conception School of Jamaica Estates, NY (Dr. Charlene Jaffie, principal).
Copyright © 2004 Carl Ballenas & Nancy Cataldi.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
No claim to Old Kew Gardens [.com] color photograph.
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