Margaret Storrs Grierson

Margaret Storrs Grierson
Born	Margaret Storrs June 27, 1900(1900-06-27) Denver, Colorado
Died	December 12, 1997(1997-12-12) Leeds, Massachusetts
Cause of death	Cancer
Education	A.B., Smith College; Ph.D., Bryn Mawr College
Occupation	Philosophy professor; college archivist
Years active	1930–1965
Employer	Smith College
Known for	Founder and first director of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College
Height	Almost 6 ft (1.8 m)
Spouse	Sir Herbert Grierson
Parents	Lucius Seymour Storrs, father
Relatives	Job Adams Cooper, maternal grandfather

"I was around only for the beginning; for the planting of an acorn. The greatest satisfaction is to see it go on developing, growing in ways beyond my ken, into a staunch oak tree." (Margaret Storrs Grierson referencing the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College)

^[1]

Margaret Storrs Grierson (June 29, 1900–December 12, 1997), archivist and philosophy professor, was the founder^[1] and first director of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. In this capacity, she traveled extensively, in the United States and abroad, assembling manuscripts that document the history of women.^[2]

Personal life

Grierson was born in Denver, Colorado. Her father was railway executive Lucius Seymour Storrs and her mother was Mary Cooper Storrs, daughter of Job Adams Cooper, sixth Governor of the State of Colorado. Grierson had one sibling, a brother, Lucius ("Luke") Seymour Storrs, Jr.

Because of her father's career, the family moved several times during Grierson's childhood. She attended seven schools before entering Misses Masters' School, Dobbs Ferry, New York.^[3]

During her subsequent professional years at Smith, Grierson developed an enduring friendship with professor Marine Leland that lasted until Leland's death in 1983.

On December 7, 1938, she married Sir Herbert Grierson, Rector of the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Career

Grierson returned to Northampton, Massachusetts in 1930, and taught philosophy at Smith College until 1936. In 1940, she became the college archivist, and in 1942, she also became the executive secretary of the Friends of the Smith College Library. in 1942, she became the first director of the Sophia Smith Collection at the college.^[3] Until her retirement in 1965, Grierson simultaneously held the three positions.^[2]

She was awarded the Smith College Medal in 1968.

Grierson died of cancer in 1997 in Leeds, Massachusetts.^[3]

Legacy

The Grierson Scholars program was launched in the late 1990s, partially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jessup, Margaret; Marla R. Miller (May 1999). "Grierson Scholarships and the "Agents of Social Change Project": New Research Opportunities in Women's History". Perspectives. American Historical Association. http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/1999/9905/9905arc3.cfm. Retrieved 2009-01-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Biographical Note". fivecolleges.edu. http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/smitharchives/manosca28_bioghist.html. Retrieved 2009-01-11. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Ware, Susan; Stacy Lorraine Braukman, & Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (2004). Notable American Women. Harvard University Press. pp. 261–262. ISBN 067401488X. http://books.google.com/books?id=WSaMu4F06AQC&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=storrs+mary+cooper&source=web&ots=UG31efGd0r&sig=X9PHTRPua4GVnQXoF-yQpQp42j4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result. 

External links

• Photo, Smith College

Persondata
Name	Grierson, Margaret Storrs
Alternative names	Margaret Storrs
Short description	Founder and first director, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College
Date of birth	June 27, 1900
Place of birth	Denver, Colorado
Date of death	December 12, 1997
Place of death	Leeds, Massachusetts