Elisabeth Antoinette Irwin (29 August 1880, Brooklyn, New York–16 October 1942,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, age 62) was the founder of the Little Red School House. She was an educator, psychologist, reformer, and declared lesbian, living with her life partner

Katharine Anthony Katharine Susan Anthony, sometimes also spelled Katherine (November 27, 1877 – November 20, 1965), was a US biographer best known for ''The Lambs'' (1945), a controversial study of the British writers Charles and Mary Lamb. Biography Kathar ...

and the two children they adopted.

Life and career

Irwin was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, to William Henry Irwin and Josephina Augusta Easton. Her father was a cotton merchant. She attended the

Packer Collegiate Institute The Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent college preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Formerly the Brooklyn Female Academy, Packer has been located at 170 Joralemon Street in the historic district of Br ...

and received her

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from Smith College in 1903, and her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1923. She was a member of the feminist intellectual club Heterodoxy. In 1912 while a member of the staff of the Public Education Association, she began work at revising the curriculum for the children at Public School 64. She founded the Little Red School House curriculum, in Manhattan in 1921, in the red-painted annex of Public School 61. Her work there, and then at Public School 41, is described in an article for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' as an experiment to demonstrate that "...the broader, more active program of the so-called progressive schools could be carried out under public school conditions." Faced with funding cuts, it appeared the experiment would end, but a group of parents came together in an ice cream parlor, urging her to start her own school and promising financial support. In September 1932 the "Little Red School House" got its own building at Bleecker Street. At first only primary education was available, but in 1940 a high school was added. She died in the New York Hospital in October 1942. She was survived by her partner, Katharine Anthony, and their two adopted daughters, Mrs Howard Gresens of

Plandome, New York Plandome is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered part of the Greater Manhasset area, which is anchored by Manhasset. The population was 1,349 at ...

and Mrs R.O. Bogue of Pensacola, Florida. Her funeral was conducted in Gaylordsville, Connecticut where she and Miss Anthony maintained a summer home, having called themselves the "gay ladies of GaylordsvilleMartinac, Paula (1997). The queerest places: A national guide to gay and lesbian historic sites, (p. 113). New York: Henry Holt and Company.". She was buried there alongside Miss Anthony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Elisabeth 1880 births 1942 deaths American lesbians LGBT people from New York (state) Smith College alumni People from Brooklyn 20th-century American educators American educational theorists Columbia University alumni Educators from New York City 20th-century American women educators LGBT psychologists