Ted Washburn

Ted Washburn was the son of Bradford Washburn, an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer, who established the Boston Museum of Science, and served as its director from 1939-80. Ted Washburn graduated from Harvard in 1964, and then earned a masters’ degree from Harvard in 1966. He was the coxswain of the Harvard coxed four that raced at the Tokyo Olympics. Washburn later became a teacher, teaching English for 23 years at Cambridge’s Buckingham Browne & Nichols School (BBN). He also coached the Harvard freshmen heavyweight crew team for over 20 years, but neither position ended well.

In 1987 Washburn was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexual misconduct with children, raping a child, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was dismissed from BBN in February 1986 after the charges became known to the administrators at the school. Harvard was not aware of the reason for Washburn’s dismissal and did nothing until the March 1987 indictment, after which he was placed on leave of absence from Harvard, never to return. Washburn eventually admitted to “sexually inappropriate behavior” with children in 1987, and pleaded guilty to the molestation of two boys. Middlesex County Judge J. Harold Flannery gave Washburn a suspended sentence, ordered him to continue psychotherapy, do 1,000 hours of community service, and stay away from boys age 16 and under.