William Bradford<\/p><\/div>\n
William Bradford<\/strong>, noted romanticist artist and photographer, was born in a part of Fairhaven which eventually became Acushnet, and later divided his time, when not traveling, between a New York studio and homes and studios in Fairhaven. He traveled to the Arctic for subject matter and was sponsored by European patrons, including Queen Victoria. His paintings, photographs and sketches are in many collections, Including the Royal Collection Trust in the United Kingdom. His first studio was located near the intersection of Main and Church streets and jutted out over the water. A later studio was on Union Wharf. He also maintained a studio in New York. He died in 1892 and is buried at Riverside Cemetery.<\/span><\/p>\nTheodore Thomas<\/strong>, American\u2019s first renowned orchestra leader and founder of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, had a summer home surrounded by spacious gardens at the northeast corner of Adams and Spring streets from 1887 until shortly before his death in 1905. He was born in Germany in 1835 and was playing violin in public concerts at the age of six. Coming to America at the age of ten, he played in many bands and orchestras, eventually conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and others. In 1891 he began the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Fairhaven summer home, purchased by Thomas\u2019 first wife Minna, later became the home of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts.<\/span><\/p>\nFrances Ford Seymour<\/p><\/div>\n
Frances Ford Seymour<\/strong>, wife of actor Henry Fonda and mother of actors Peter and Jane Fonda lived on Green Street for several years and graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1925. The Seymours were in Fairhaven from 1922 to 1936 and may have come here through connections with the family of Henry H. Rogers. Frances\u2019 father Eugene Seymour was the uncle of Mary Benjamin, who married Henry H. Rogers Jr.<\/span><\/p>\nWilliam H. Hand Jr.<\/strong>, a prominent 20th century yacht designer, had his office and boat yard on Middle Street. He designed many small sail boats, V-bottomed power boats, and motorsailers. Hand moved his business from New Bedford to Fairhaven about 1921. Some of his designs were built by local shipyards such as Casey\u2019s Boat Yard and his own boat yard, later leased to the Palmer Scott & Company. The Arctic exploring sloop Bowdoin<\/em>, designed for Donald B. McMillan, is owned and operated today by the Maine Maritime Academy. Many of his original drawings were lost to flood waters during the Great New England Hurricane of 1938.<\/span><\/p>\nGil Santos<\/strong>, radio announcer known for more than three decades as the \u201cVoice of the New England Patriots,\u201d and as WBZ Radio\u2019s morning sports reporter, grew up in Fairhaven and graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1956. After a start at local radio stations he started working for Boston\u2019s WBZ in 1966. Over the years he broadcast 759 New England Patriots games, including pre-season, regular season, playoff and Super Bowl games. He also commented on games of the Boston Celtics, Providence Friars, the Boston Marathon, the 1984 Olympics, and many other sporting events. He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2013 and was also inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.<\/span><\/p>\nJon Stetson<\/strong>, an internationally known mentalist, magician and public speaker, grew up and continues to live in Fairhaven while amazing audiences around the world. Beginning with performing magic shows at local libraries, schools and public events, Stetson evolved into a mentalist, combining comedy with mind boggling demonstrations of \u201csleight of mind.\u201d He has performed for US Presidents, European royalty, in casinos, on cruise ships, at the Magic Castle, and on network television. Stetson is generally “on the road” about 200 days a year. He was the inspiration for the 2008-2015 CBS television series \u201cThe Mentalist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nMark Dion<\/p><\/div>\n
Mark Dion<\/strong>, a renowned and award winning artist and sculptor with major exhibitions and installations across the US and Europe, spent his childhood in Fairhaven and graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1981. During the next six years, he studied at the University of Hartford, the School of Visual Arts in New York, and the in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program. His works, made up of elaborately arranged collections of found natural and human-made objects, show how our ideas of history, knowledge and nature are shaped by societal and institutional belief systems. He has been awarded fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and Falmouth University in the UK. In 2017, The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston hosted “Mark Dion: Misadventures of a Twenty First Century Naturalist”, the largest American survey to date of the Dion\u2019s work. He lives in New York with his wife, artist Dana Sherwood, and their son.<\/span><\/p>\n