Daily, Ray Karchmer

Dr. Ray Karchmer Daily was an internationally recognized ophthalmologist and an active Houston community leader from the 1920's until her death in 1975. Born in Vilna, Lithuania, in 1891, she came with her family as a Russian immigrant to Denison, Texas. After high school graduation, she entered the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston where she received her medical degree in 1913. Except for various professional trips abroad, Dr. Daily continually maintained a practice in Houston. She was a pioneer member of many local, state, and national medical associations. Dr. Daily was very active in the Jewish community and the entire Houston area as well. She was a Progressive who fought the Ku Klux Klan and served on the Houston School Board for some twenty-four years (1928-1952). As a "liberal" she was finally defeated for re-election by an opponent using McCarthyism. She was instrumental in the founding of the University of Houston, and was active in state, regional, and national educational associations. Specifically concerned with the position of women in society, Dr. Daily began as a suffragette and remained involved in women's rights until the 1960's. The collection is of particular interest for examination of the cultural, medical, political, and educational situation in Houston from the 1920's until the 1960's.