1917: Humble Beginnings

Students attending class in the early years of the Bentley School, photo undated. 

In late 1916, Harry C. Bentley left his position as a professor at the College of Business Administration of Boston University. In early 1917, a group of his former students contacted Mr. Bentley, asking if there was a way that they might continue to study accounting under his instruction. 

Mr. Bentley began seeking out a suitable meeting space, and soon secured a room (Bentley's first "campus"!) at 30 Huntington Avenue in downtown Boston. 

Portraits of Bentley's first students from an early school newsletter. 

Thirty students, soon to be known as The Bentley Associates, attended Mr. Bentley's first class on February 26th, 1917. Thus, the "Bentley School of Accounting and Finance" was born.