Gardiner, Dorothy, 1894-....

Dorothy Gardiner (1894-1979) was an American author who wrote mysteries and novels about Colorado and the West.

From the guide to the Dorothy Gardiner papers, ca. 1870-1960, ca. 1930-1960, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

Dorothy Gardiner was born November 5, 1894 in Naples, Italy to John Gardiner (a Scot) and Maud Clark, daughter of James Maxwell Clark, a founder of Greeley, Colorado. Because of John Gardiner's friendship with Sir Francis Galton (cousin of Charles Darwin and the inventor of fingerprinting), Dorothy Gardiner was the first baby ever to be fingerprinted. Her fingerprints are still housed at the Fingerprint Museum at Scotland Yard. Dorothy's father, John Gardiner, was the first Head of Biology at the University of Colorado. Dorothy Gardiner grew up in Boulder, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado in 1917 with a degree in History. During World War II (from 1941-1945) she was in charge of all the files and records for the North Atlantic Area office of the American Red Cross. In 1947 the University of Colorado awarded her its Recognition Medal. She was the Executive Secretary of the Mystery Writers of America, Inc. for seven years (from 1950-1957). She became a well-known author publishing ten books (three novels on the early American West, one on the history of the West before the building of the Union Pacific Railroad, and six detective novels). She died in 1979.

From the guide to the Dorothy Gardiner Papers, 1885-1981, (University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries. Special Collections Dept.)