Edith Hamilton(1867-1963)

Writer

Born in Dresden, Germany, of American parents, educator Edith Hamilton was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She took a very early interest in Greek and Roman literature, and after graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1894 with an M.A., she spent the following two years at the German universities of Leipzig and Munich (becoming the first woman to attend classes there). In late 1896 she returned to the US and helped organize the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland, a prep school, to which she was appointed headmistress. She remained in that position for 26 years, retiring in 1922. She then devoted full time to her studies of and writings on classical literature. Her first book, 1930's "The Greek Way", was a collection of her articles and other writings on the subject of Greek literature. She wrote several books on both Greek and Roman literature, all of which were critical and financial successes. She also wrote books on Israel in the time of Christ. She visited Greece in 1957 at the age of 90, and was made an honorary citizen of Athens by the Greek government because of her devotion to and furtherance of Greek literature.

She died in Washington, DC, on May 31, 1963.