Adams, Eleanor B.

Eleanor Burnham Adams (1910-1996) was a historian, author, and editor. Born in Cambridge Massachusetts, May 14, 1910, she earned a degree from Radcliffe College in romance languages, graduating cum laude in 1931. She later studied history at the University of Madrid and Centro de Estudios Históricos. She began her career as a historian in 1934, working with France V. Scholes in what became a lifelong collaboration. Her skills as a paleographer became so advanced that Scholes is known to have said that he trusted her readings of certain passage rather than his own. In 1938-39, she travelled to Mexico while working for the Carnegie Institute. Working from lists provided by Scholes, she transcribed and or photographed documents in the Archivo General de la Nación de México. In 1941, Adams joined Scholes, who had returned to UNM at the invitation of University President James F. Zimmerman. She was still in the employment of the Carnegie Institute, but as a detached researcher. In 1950-51 Adams served as curator of the microfilm collection of Hispanic manuscripts at the Bancroft Library at Berkeley. In 1951, she returned to UNM as a Research Associate in History. From here on, New Mexico became her home for the rest of her life. Between 1955 and 1961, Dr. Scholes and Adams published seven documentary histories on sixteenth-century New Spain. In 1956 Adams and Fray Angélico Chávez published their acclaimed The Missions of New Mexico, 1776: A Description by Fray Francisco Atanasio Domínguez with other Contemporary Documents. A second edition appeared in 1976. Adams' editorship of the New Mexico Historical Review began with the July 1964 issue. She remained in this position until 1974. During her tenure as editor, Adams received criticism from members of the University of New Mexico History Department for following an untraditional career path, but she refused to back down. Her supporters rightly pointed out that she had a publishing record far surpassing that of her detractors. She was one of only a few women from her era to achieve international recognition as a historian. She published, as author or co-author, numerous books and over twenty articles. She passed away January 15, 1996.

From the description of Eleanor B. Adams papers, 1492-2000. (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 320908741

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