|
|
|
Martha Carey Thomas was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 2, 1857. Her parents, James and Mary Thomas, were fairly successful Quakers. |
|
|
|
 |
She attended school in Baltimore and later, against her father’s wishes, entered as a junior at Cornell University. Two years after entering, she graduated in 1877. She pursued graduate work at John Hopkins and the University of Leipzig. After studying for three years, she was refused a degree because of her gender. She applied at Zurich and was accepted for an evaluation in Linguistics. In 1882 she received her Ph.D. “summa cum laude” from Zurich. |
|
|
 |
|
|
In 1885, along with her friend Mary Garrett, she started Bryn Mawr School for Girls in Baltimore. She established scholarships for European students to study at Bryn Mawr. In 1894, Martha Carey Thomas succeeded James E. Rhoads, the retiring president of Bryn Mawr. She was dean until 1908 and president until 1922. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
She returned to the United States in 1884 and was named professor and dean at a new school, Bryn Mawr College for women. She was the first faculty woman in the country to be given the title ‘Dean’. She became a powerful influence at that school. She helped organize the undergraduate study program and started the first graduate program for women. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Thomas was also an advocate for women’s rights and an active suffragist. She was the first president of the National College Women's Equal Suffrage League and a leading member of National American Woman Suffrage Association. On December 2, 1935, Martha Carey Thomas died at her home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Back |
|
Next |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
