Bessie Louise Pierce (20 April 1886 – 3 October 1974) was an American historian known for her three-volume work, ''A History of Chicago.'' Pierce was born in

Caro, Michigan Caro is a city in and the county seat of Tuscola County, Michigan, United States. The population was 4,328 at the 2020 census and 4,145 at the 2000 census (an increase of 4.4%). Caro is located northeast of Flint and east of Saginaw in Michiga ...

and grew up in

Waverly, Iowa Waverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,394 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo– Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The sister cit ...

.Moss, Ruth (15 June 1958). "Chicago's Boswell: Bessie Pierce Chronicles Vivid Life of the City She Loves." ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', p. G45. She earned her bachelor's degree at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and obtained a master's degree at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1918. She joined the faculty of the University of Iowa history department under

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Sr. (; February 27, 1888 – October 30, 1965) was an American historian who taught at Harvard University, pioneering social history and urban history. He was a Progressive Era intellectual who stressed material caus ...

, who urged her to get a doctorate.Hutchinson, Louise (29 Aug. 1965). "Distinguished Chicagoans: She Labors 36 Years to Write Chicago's History." ''Chicago Tribune'', p. B3. In 1929, she returned to the University of Chicago at the request of

Charles Edward Merriam Charles Edward Merriam Jr. (1874–1953) was an American professor of political science at the University of Chicago, founder of the behavioralism, behavioral approach to political science, a trainer of many graduate students, a prominent intellec ...

to oversee the History of Chicago project. For the

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

in 1933, she wrote ''As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673–1933.'' She then began her most notable work, ''A History of Chicago.'' The first two volumes were published in 1937 and 1940. She was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1955. She completed the third volume in 1957, three years after she retired and became a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

.Powers, Irene (3 March 1967). "Chicago Chronicler, Miss Pierce, Honored." ''Chicago Tribune'', p. B18. Pierce began work on a fourth volume, which was to cover the years 1894 to 1915, but it was never completed. She returned to Iowa in 1973 and died the following year.

Notable works

*''As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673–1933.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933. *''A History of Chicago, volume 1: The Beginning of a City, 1673-1848.'' New York : A.A. Knopf, 1937. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007. *''A History of Chicago, volume 2: From Town to City, 1848-1871.'' New York : A.A. Knopf, 1940. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007. *''A History of Chicago, volume 3: The Rise of a Modern City, 1871-1893.'' New York : A.A. Knopf, 1957. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007,

References

External links

Guide to the Bessie Louise Pierce Papers 1839-1974
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
* "Michigan Births, 1867-1902," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQZR-SPX : 20 February 2021), Bessie L. Pierce, 20 Apr 1886; citing item 1 p 355 rn 460, Caro, Tuscola, Michigan, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 2,320,846. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Bessie Louise 1886 births 1974 deaths Historians of Illinois University of Iowa alumni University of Chicago alumni American women historians People from Caro, Michigan People from Waverly, Iowa 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers Historians from Iowa Historians from Michigan