Agnes Irwin
Agnes Irwin, c. 1909
Born(1841-12-30)December 30, 1841
Washington, D.C.
DiedDecember 5, 1914(1914-12-05) (aged 72)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
OccupationAmerican educator
Known forFirst dean of Radcliffe College (1894-1909)

Agnes Irwin (December 30, 1841 – December 5, 1914) was an American educator, best known as the first dean of Radcliffe College (1894–1909).[1][2][3] Prior to that, she served as the principal of the West Penn Square Seminary for Young Ladies in Philadelphia (later renamed as the Agnes Irwin School).[4]

Formative years

Born in Washington, D.C., on December 30, 1841, Agnes Irwin was a daughter of United States Congressman William Wallace Irwin (1803–1856) and Sophia Arabella (Bache) Irwin (1815–1904), a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who was a daughter of Richard Bache, Jr. of the Republic of Texas Navy and Second Texas Legislature (1847), and Sophia Burrell Dallas, daughter of Arabella Maria Smith and Alexander J. Dallas, an American statesman who served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary under President James Madison.

Agnes Irwin was also a great-granddaughter of Sarah Franklin Bache and Richard Bache, and the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin,[5] as well as a grandniece of George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice President of the United States, serving under James K. Polk.

During her formative years, Agnes Irwin was raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, where her father was serving as Minister Resident to Denmark. Following the completion of his service to the United States in that role, she returned with her family to Washington, D.C., where she subsequently became a witness to the impact that the American Civil War had on the nation's capital during its first year (1861). After relocating to what she and her parents hoped would be a safer area for her in New York in 1862, she arrived around the same time as the New York City draft riots were beginning.[6]

Academic career

Gymnasium and Fay House, Radcliffe College, c. 1904

In 1869, Irwin took over the administration of West Penn Square Seminary for Young Ladies (1869–1894) in Philadelphia and transformed it into an institution of disciplined teaching. The school was ultimately renamed in her honor. Believing in the importance of higher education for women, she was among the first to prepare students for the examinations given by Harvard College, to credential women for teaching, and by Bryn Mawr College, to qualify for entrance. The success of The Agnes Irwin School[7] won Irwin the support of Harvard’s president, Charles William Eliot, and led to her selection as first dean of Radcliffe College in 1894, a position she held until September 1, 1909.[8]

During her tenure as dean at Radcliffe College, the number of graduates increased from fewer than one hundred to more than one thousand. In addition, multiple major buildings were added, including Agassiz House, Barnard, Bertram, Grace Hopkinson Eliot and Whitman Halls, Greenleaf House, four dormitories, a gymnasium, and the library.[9] Irwin also personally paid for two exam proctors to assist with Helen Keller's education—one to monitor Keller and the other to watch Keller's proctor.[10]

In 1900, Irwin was appointed by Governor Roger Wolcott to the Board of Managers for Massachusetts at the Paris Exposition.[11][12] She was then appointed by Governor John L. Bates to the Massachusetts State Commission for the Adult Blind in 1903, a post she held until 1905.[13][14]

From 1911-1914, Irwin served as the first president of the Headmistresses’ Association of Private Schools.

Awards and other honors

Irwin was the recipient of 3 Honorary Degrees:[15][16]

Illness, death and interment

Irwin fell ill with pneumonia in Philadelphia in 1914, and died at her home there at 2027 De Lancey Place on December 5, 1914. She was interred at Philadelphia's Saint James the Less Episcopal Churchyard.[17][18]

Legacy

Irwin was the subject of a 1934 biography by Agnes Repplier.[19][20]

Today, The Agnes Irwin School continues to be a leader in girls' education with approximately 600 girls enrolled in pre-kindergarten to twelfth grades. The school is currently located in suburban Rosemont, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia.[21] In September 2015, English primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall gave a presentation to the student body, explaining her pioneering research work with chimpanzees and discussing the continuing need for environmental activism.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "For Radcliffe: Its Friends Rally to Aid of College." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, April 5, 1904, p. 3 (subscription required).
  2. ↑ "Forging Front: Radcliffe College as an Educational Center: Leading Institution Had a Very Prosperous Year." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, January 1, 1896, p. 3 (subscription required).
  3. ↑ "Miss Agness Irwin and Radcliffe College" and "The Dean of Radcliffe College." Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Evening Transcript, May 16, 1894, p.11 (subscription required).
  4. ↑ "The Agnes Irwin School". agnesirwin.org. Archived from the original on 2006-12-25.
  5. ↑ "Former Radcliffe Dean Dies: Miss Agnes Irwin Was Kin of Benjamin Franklin." St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, December 6, 1914, p. 2 (subscription required).
  6. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16 (subscription required).
  7. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development," The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16.
  8. ↑ "Miss Irwin Resigns." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, February 20, 1909, p. 11 (subscription required).
  9. ↑ "Agnes Irwin" (memorial tribute). Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Evening Transcript, December 7, 1914, p. 10 (subscription required).
  10. ↑ "Becoming Helen Keller - Full Episode with Additional Accessibility Features (Extended Audio Description, Open Captions, ASL, Descriptive Transcript) | American Masters | PBS". PBS. 20 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Former Radcliffe Dean Dies: Miss Agnes Irwin Was Kin of Benjamin Franklin," St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, December 6, 1914, p. 2.
  12. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development," The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16.
  13. ↑ "Former Radcliffe Dean Dies: Miss Agnes Irwin Was Kin of Benjamin Franklin," St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, December 6, 1914, p. 2.
  14. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development," The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16.
  15. ↑ "Richard B. And Agnes Irwin family correspondence [1796]-1894 1861-1863".
  16. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development," The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16.
  17. ↑ "Former Radcliffe Dean Dies: Miss Agnes Irwin Was Kin of Benjamin Franklin," St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, December 6, 1914, p. 2.
  18. ↑ "Former Dean of Radcliffe Dies: Miss Irwin Stricken at Philadelphia, For Years Leader in Women's College Development, The Boston Globe, December 6, 1914, p. 16.
  19. ↑ "Biography of First Dean of Radcliffe College." Boston, Massachusetts: The Boston Globe, November 17, 1934, p. 15 (subscription required).
  20. ↑ Gilkyson, Phoebe H. "Miss Repplier's Luminous Life of Agnes Irwin." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 1934 (subscription required).
  21. ↑ Arvedlund, Erin. "Starting young to attract girls to careers in STEM: Agnes Irwin School and the Franklin Institute hold their third conference." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 11, 2017, p. A6 (subscription required).
  22. ↑ Williams, Khalil. "Goodall goes to school: Naturalist takes her lessons to Agnes Irwin." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 16, 2015, p. B4 (subscription required).
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