Divver, Margaret

Margaret Divver was born on September 7, 1902, the daughter of Neil A. and Margaret (Keefe) Divver. After graduation from St. Mary's Convent School in Melrose, Massachusetts, she became a free-lance ghost writer and a reporter for a financial newspaper (1928-1932). She started working for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1932 as a copywriter. She became assistant advertising manager (1944-1946); associate advertising manager (1946-1948); and advertising manager (1948-1958). In 1958, she became the first woman vice-president of John Hancock, a post she held until her retirement in 1966.

MD was also a member of the Boston Citizens Traffic Safety Committee (1958), the Boston City Planning Board (1956), director of the Boston Chapter of the American Red Cross (1958), director/chairman of the Public Relations Committee on Women in the Services (1954-1958). She was on the advisory board of the Simmons College School of Business; a member of the Advertising Federation of America, and a director, 1956-1957; and a member of the Advertising Club of Boston and director, 1944-1945. From 1956 to 1960 she was a member of the Examining Committee of the Boston Public Library. MD was chosen as the Advertising Woman of the Year by the AFA and the Boston Business Woman of the Year by the Boston Business and Professional Women's Club, both in 1953.

MD never married. She had five brothers and two sisters.

From the guide to the Papers, 1943-1977, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)