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Allen, Nathaniel Topliff

educator, was born Sept. 29, 1823, in Medfield, Mass. In 1848 he was appointed to the charge of the model department in the Normal school of West Newton, Mass., which position he filled with marked ability for six years.

In connection with Cyrus Pierce, father of American normal schools, he then established the West Newton English and Classical school. For nearly half a century he has taught in this school, which he purchased in 1853; and with his three brothers has created for the institution a national reputation in the educational world. Here the first pure kindergarten in the United States was started in 1863. He has always advocated the liberal and thorough co-education of the sexes, and is one of the most prominent educators in the United States.