Elizabeth Gray Vining

Elizabeth Gray Vining

Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining (October 6, 1902 - November 27, 1999), born Elizabeth Janet Gray and also known as Elizabeth Gray Vining, was a professional librarian who tutored Emperor Akihito of Japan in English while he was the Crown Prince. She was also a noted author of children's literature.

Biography

Vining was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was a graduate of Germantown Friends School and later Bryn Mawr College, class of 1923. In 1926, after earning a degree in library science from the Drexel Institute in 1925, she became a librarian at the University of North Carolina, and in 1929 she married Morgan Fisher Vining, associate director of the Extension Division of the same university. The marriage ended in 1933 with her husband's death in a New York City automobile accident, in which she was also severely injured. During her convalescence, she converted to the Quaker church.

Vining was selected by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers during the occupation of Japan after the end of World War II to be a private tutor to the Imperial House of Japan. In addition to teaching English language skills, she also introduced the children of the Imperial Household: (Prince Hitachi and Princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako) to western values and culture. She also lectured at the Gakushuin University and at the Tsuda College. For her work, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Crown, third class, shortly before her return to the United States in 1950.

After her return to the United States, she wrote a book about her experiences in Japan ("Windows for the Crown Prince", 1952) and went on to author over 60 other works of fiction and non-fiction. She was awarded a Newbery medal for "Adam of the Road".

Partial bibliography

*"Meredith's Ann" (1927)
*"Tangle Garden" (1928)
*"Meggy MacIntosh" (1930)
*"Jane Hope" (1933)
*"Young Walter Scott" (1935)
*"Beppy Marlowe" (1936)
*"Penn" (1938)
*"Contributions of the Quakers" (1939)
*"The Fair Adventure (1940)
*"Adam of the Road" (1942)
*"Sandy (1945)
*"Windows for the Crown Prince" (1952)
*"The Virginia Exiles" (1955)
*"Friend of Life - A Biography of Rufus M. Jones" (1958)
*"The Cheerful Heart" (1959)
*"Return to Japan" (1960)
*"I Will Adventure" (1962)
*"Take Heed of Loving Me" (1963)
*"Flora: A Biography" (1966)
*"I, Roberta" (1967)
*"Quiet Pilgrimage" (1970)
*"The Taken Girl (1972)
*"Being Seventy - The Measure of a Year" (1978)
*"Harnessing Pegasus: Inspiration and Meditation" (1978)

References

*cite book
last = Bix
first = Herbert B
year = 2001
title = Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
publisher = Harper Perennial
location =
id = ISBN 0-06-093130-2

External links

* [http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/vining_obituary.htm Quaker Obituaries]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E0D6113FF932A35751C1A96F958260 New York Times obiturary]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Akihito — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Akihito (homonymie). Akihito 明仁 Akihito, empereur du Japon, 2009 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Empereur Akihito — Akihito Pour les articles homonymes, voir Akihito (homonymie). Akihito 明仁 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Heisei Tennō — Akihito Pour les articles homonymes, voir Akihito (homonymie). Akihito 明仁 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Heisei tennō — Akihito Pour les articles homonymes, voir Akihito (homonymie). Akihito 明仁 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Newbery Medal — Awarded for ... for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Presented by Association for Library Service to Children …   Wikipedia

  • List of Drexel University alumni — The 1916 class of senior chemist students were among the first graduates to earn a bachelor s degree. Drexel University is a private university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 16th largest pr …   Wikipedia

  • Akihito — Kaiser Akihito (2009) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Germantown Friends School — Infobox School name = Germantown Friends School motto = Behold, I have set before thee an open door established = 1845 type = Independent affiliation = district = grades = K ndash;12 president = principal = head of school = Richard Wade dean =… …   Wikipedia

  • Order of the Sacred Treasure — 瑞宝章 Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Awarded by the Emperor of Japan Type …   Wikipedia

  • Newbery Medal — Die Newbery Medal ist ein US amerikanischer Literaturpreis, der seit 1922 von der Association for Library Service to Children, einer Untergruppe der American Library Association, vergeben wird. Zusammen mit der Caldecott Medal ist dieser Preis… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”