Hanscom, Elizabeth Deering, 1865-1960

Elizabeth Deering Hanscom was born on August 15, 1865 in Saco, Maine. She graduated from Boston University in 1887 after which she obtained her Master's degree there. Hanscom received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1894, the first year the University awarded Ph.D.s to women. That same year she joined the Smith College faculty, where she became a full professor and occupied the Mary Augusta Jordan chair in the English department until her retirement in 1932. She was a popular teacher and was noted for introducing the study of American literature at a time when the field was generally not taught at institutions of higher education in the country. She died on February 2, 1960 in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

From the guide to the Elizabeth Deering Hanscom papers, 1824-1961, (Manuscripts and Archives)

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