Julia Swift Orvis

Julia Swift Orvis (November 22, 1872 – March 16, 1949) was an American college professor, pacifist, and author of A Brief History of Poland (1916). She taught history and political science at Wellesley College for 42 years, before she retired in 1941.

Julia Swift Orvis
A middle-aged white woman, hair center-parted and dressed back from face and shoulders, wearing a high-collared white blouse or dress with ruffles
Julia Swift Orvis, from the 1915 Wellesley College yearbook
BornNovember 22, 1872
Dixon, Illinois
DiedMarch 16, 1949
Boston, Massachusetts
Occupation(s)College professor, pacifist, author
Known forTaught at Wellesley College from 1899 to 1941
Notable workA Brief History of Poland (1916)

Early life and education

Orvis was born in Dixon, Illinois, the daughter of Franklin Keese Orvis and Susanna Appleton Swift Orvis.[1] Her father was a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, serving as a white first lieutenant of the 26th United States Colored Infantry Regiment.[2] He manufactured plows and ran a hotel in Illinois after the war; he also wrote a letter of support to suffragist Amy Kirby Post in 1872.[3]

Orvis earned a bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1895, where Lucy Maynard Salmon was her mentor.[4] She pursued graduate studies at Cornell University and the Sorbonne,[5] with a fellowship from the Women's Education Association of Boston. She completed doctoral work at Cornell University in 1907,[6] with a dissertation titled "The Committees of the Constituent Assembly: A Study in the Origins of Committee Government in France".

Career

Orvis taught European history and political science at Wellesley College for 42 years, from 1899; she became an associate professor in 1907, and retired in 1941 as professor emeritus.[1][6] Orvis and fellow faculty member Phillips Bradley[7] co-founded the campus book store, Hathaway House Bookshop, in 1925.[8] She also ran a faculty club, and gave lectures to alumnae and community groups.[6][9][10]

Orvis was known for political and humanitarian activities beyond campus.[11] She wrote A Brief History of Poland (1916,).[12] From 1920 to 1925, she was executive secretary of the Society to Eliminate Economic Causes of War.[6] From 1937 she represented her precinct in Wellesley town meetings.[13] After retirement, she raised money for the Persian Relief Fund.[14]

Personal life and legacy

Orvis died at a hospital in Boston in 1949. She was 76 years old.[6] Hathaway House Bookshop continued as the campus book store until 1979.[8][15][16]

References
  1. Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 612.
  2. "Franklin K. Orvis". Vermont Civil War, Lest We Forget. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  3. Hewitt, Nancy A. (2018-03-19). Radical Friend: Amy Kirby Post and Her Activist Worlds. UNC Press Books. p. 267. ISBN 978-1-4696-4033-4.
  4. Palmieri, Patricia Ann (1997-02-27). In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley. Yale University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-300-06388-2.
  5. "Historical News". The American Historical Review. 54 (4): 972–991. 1949. doi:10.1086/547772. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 1844346.
  6. "Dr. Julia Orvis, 76, Retired Educator; Emeritus Head of History and Political Science at Wellesley, 42 Years on Faculty, Dies". The New York Times. 1949-03-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  7. "Phillips Bradley, 88, A Specialist on Labor". The New York Times. 1982-07-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  8. Brauner, Cathy. "Historic Wellesley building going forward with new owner, but reverting to old name". The Wellesley Townsman. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  9. "Wellesley Club to Hear Lecture on Europe". Scarsdale Inquirer. March 18, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved July 14, 2021 – via Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers.
  10. "Prof Julia S. Orvis Speaker". The Boston Globe. 1918-12-06. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "When a Woman Insists Upon an Answer". The Boston Globe. 1932-05-19. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Orvis, Julia Swift". The Online Books Page. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  13. "Julia Swift Orvis; Professor Emeritus at Wellesley Was 76". The Boston Globe. 1949-03-17. p. 37. Retrieved 2021-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "For Persian Relief". Dixon Evening Telegraph. 1943-01-13. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Hathaway House Bookshop history, 1933-1963, Wellesley College Archives.
  16. Salins, Barbara (1975-10-16). "Hathaway House Bookshop Lives On". The Times. p. 29. Retrieved 2021-07-15 – via Newspapers.com.
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