Spell, Jefferson Rea, 1886-1967

• 9 Nov 1886: born in Pottsboro, Grayson County, Texas
• 1901 - 1905 : attended Allen Academy, Bryan, Texas
• 1905 - 1913 : attended UT intermittently; taught Latin at high schools in Bartlett, San Antonio, and Navasota
• 1910: married Lota Mae Harrigan
• 1913: received B.A. from UT (classics major)
• Jan 1920: appointed instructor in romance languages at UT
• 1920: received M.A. from UT with thesis, Spanish teaching in the United States,
• 1927: Adjunct Professor at UT (called Assistant Professor from 1936)
• 1931: received Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania with dissertation,The life and works of José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi,
• 1939: Associate Professor at UT; received Diploma de Honor from Academia Mexicana for studies in the field of Mexican literature
• 1942 - 1946 : Institute of Latin American Studies (Executive Committee)
• 1943 - 1945 : vice-president and acting president of the Instituto Internacional de Literatura Iberoamericana
• 1944: Professor at UT
• 1944 - 1946 : Guest Professor in the Summer School of the National University of Mexico
• 1960: retired from UT
• 1962: Professor Emeritus
• 3 March 1967: died at his home at 2108 Hartford Rd., Austin, Texas
• 1967: (Texas Chapter) Member of the Year, in memoriam

• 2 Feb 1885: born in Big Spring, Texas (raised in San Antonio)
• 1898 - 1901 : attended Virginia Institute, Bristol, Virginia (girls' boarding school)
• 1902 - 1905 : studied music in Austria and Germany (Grand Ducal Conservatory, Karlsruhe)
• 1905 - 1910 : taught music and performed as a pianist in Mexico City
• 1910: instructor at Whitis Preparatory School, Austin
• 8 Sept 1910: married Jefferson Rea Spell
• 1914: received B.A. from UT
• 1919: received M.A. from UT
• 1922 - 1927 : librarian of the Genaro García Collection, University of Texas Library
• 1923: second woman to receive Ph.D. from UT, with a major in history and a minor in education (also studied at Columbia University and University of Chicago)
• 1929 - 1933 : associate editor of The Musicale
• 1929 - 1939 : teacher of music, music history and appreciation at Mulholland School, San Antonio, and the Texas School of Fine Arts, Austin
• 1933 - 1947 : associate editor of Southwestern Musician
• 1936: inscription writer for historical monuments, State of Texas
• 1946 - 1948 : editor of Texas Music News
• early 1960s: donated her correspondence to the Latin American Collection and sold personal library to UT
• 3 April 1972: died in Austin

From the guide to the Jefferson R. and Lota M. Spell Papers 33332702., 1844-1972, 1920-1970, (Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin)