Smythe, Mabel M. (Mabel Murphy). Hugh H. Smythe and Mabel M. Smythe papers. circa 1895-1997

Biographical Note

Hugh H. Smythe

• 1913, Aug. 19: Born, Pittsburgh, Pa.
• 1936: B.A., Virginia State College,Petersburg, Va.
• 1937: M.A. in sociology, Atlanta University,Atlanta, Ga.
• 1939: Married Mabel Hancock Murphy
• 1943 - 1944 : Research assistant to W. E. B. Du Bois on Negro Land Grant College Cooperative Social Studies Project, Atlanta University,Atlanta, Ga.
• 1945: Ph.D. in anthropology, Northwestern University,Evanston, Ill.
• 1945 - 1946 : Professor, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University,Nashville, Tenn.
• 1947 - 1949 : Assistant director, Department of Special Research, NAACP,New York, N.Y.
• 1951 - 1953 : Visiting professor, Yamaguchi National University,Yamaguchi City, Japan
• 1953 - 1977 : Professor, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York,New York, N.Y.
• 1960: Coauthored with Mabel M. Smythe The New Nigerian Elite. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press
• 1961 - 1962 : Senior advisor, Division of Economic and Social Affairs, United States Mission to the United Nations
• 1962 - 1965 : Member, United States Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs
• 1963 - 1964 : Fulbright professor, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
• 1965 - 1967 : Ambassador, Syrian Arab Republic
• 1966: Coauthored with Lester Donald Crow and Walter I. Murray Educating the Culturally Disadvantaged Child. New York, N.Y.: D. McKay Co.
• 1967 - 1969 : Ambassador, Malta
• 1977, June 22: Died, New York, N.Y.

Mabel M. Smythe

• 1918, Apr. 3: Born, Montgomery, Ala.
• 1933 - 1936 : Attended Spelman College,Atlanta, Ga.
• 1937: B.A., Mount Holyoke College,South Hadley, Mass.
• 1939: Married Hugh Heyne Smythe (died June 22, 1977)
• 1940: M.A. in economics, Northwestern University,Evanston, Ill.
• 1942: Ph.D. in economics, University of Wisconsin,Madison, Wis.
• 1942 - 1945 : Assistant professor, Lincoln University,Jefferson City, Mo.
• 1945 - 1946 : Professor, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University,Nashville, Tenn.
• 1951 - 1953 : Visiting professor, Shiga University,Hikone, Japan
• 1953: Coauthored with Alan B. Howes Intensive English Conversation. Japan: Kai Ryudo Deputy director for nonlegal research for school desegregation cases, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• 1954 - 1966 : Instructor (1954-1959) and coordinating principal (1959-1966), New Lincoln High School,New York, N.Y.
• 1960: Coauthored with Hugh H. Smythe The New Nigerian Elite. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press
• 1961 - 1962 : Member, United States Advisory Committee on Educational Exchange
• 1962 - 1965 : Member, United States Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs
• 1962 - 1969 : Member, Advisory Council for African Affairs, State Department
• 1964: Delegate, thirteenth general conference of UNESCO,Paris, France
• 1965 - 1970 : Member, United States National Commission for UNESCO
• 1969 - 1973 : Consultant, Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp.,New York, N.Y.
• 1970 - 1977 : Director, research and publications (1970-1972), and vice president (1972-1977), Phelps-Stokes Fund,New York, N.Y.
• 1973 - 1974 : Scholar in residence, United States Commission on Civil Rights
• 1976: Editor, The Black American Reference Book. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall
• 1977 - 1980 : Ambassador, United Republic of Cameroon concurrently with Republic of Equatorial Guinea (1979-1980)
• 1980 - 1981 : Deputy assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, State Department,Washington, D.C.
• 1981 - 1985 : Melville J. Herskovits Professor (1981-1983) and associate director of African Studies (1983-1985), Northwestern University,Evanston, Ill.
• 1983: Guest scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
• 1985, Oct. 18: Married Robert Haith, Jr.

From the guide to the Hugh H. Smythe and Mabel M. Smythe Papers, circa 1895-1997, (bulk 1960-1990), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)