Judith Schiff (November 26, 1937 – July 11, 2022) was an American archivist. She was chief research archivist at Yale University and historian for the city of New Haven, Connecticut.

Early life

Schiff was born in New York City, but grew up in New Haven, where she attended

Hillhouse High School James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It serves grades 9–12. James Hillhouse High School is the oldest public high school in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Public Scho ...

. She earned a degree in history from Barnard College, and returned to work at the

Cowles Foundation The Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics is an economic research institute at Yale University. It was created as the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics at Colorado Springs in 1932 by businessman and economist Alfred Cowles. In 1939 ...

at Yale.

Career as a librarian

Schiff's first job at the Yale University Library was to catalog the papers of William Dwight Whitney and Josiah Dwight Whitney. She worked at the university for more than 60 years, becoming Yale University Library chief research archivist in 1971. She met

Millicent Todd Bingham Millicent Todd Bingham (1880–1968), was an American geographer and the first woman to receive a doctorate in geology and geography from Harvard. She was also a leading expert on the poet Emily Dickinson. Biography Born Millicent Todd on Febr ...

and helped to acquire the papers of Bingham's mother,

Mabel Loomis Todd Mabel Loomis Todd or Mabel Loomis (November 10, 1856 – October 14, 1932) was an American editor and writer. She is remembered as the editor of posthumously published editions of Emily Dickinson and also wrote several novels and logs of her ...

, an editor of Emily Dickinson's poetry. In the 1960s, Schiff got to know Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who visited the library to look at Lindbergh's manuscripts. She went on to co-edit Lindbergh's '' Autobiography of Values'', and co-wrote a biography of the aviator. Schiff also helped determine that a skeleton exposed by a tree uprooted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 dated to the 18th century. In addition, Schiff organized exhibitions. She served on the group investigating Yale's slavery history. Schiff was inspired by a "history from below," and her work often focused on telling the history of marginalized people, including women and people of color. Beyond Yale, Schiff was a founder of New England Archivists, the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven, and the Ethnic Heritage Center of New Haven. While working at Yale, she earned a master’s degree in history from Columbia University and a degree in library science from

Southern Connecticut State College Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

Recognition

Schiff won the Edward Bouchet Legacy Award for her research, the Linda Lorimarr Award for Distinguished Service, and the Yale Medal from the Yale Alumni Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiff, Judith 1937 births 2022 deaths American archivists Women archivists People from New York City Barnard College alumni Southern Connecticut State University alumni Yale University Library Yale University people Hillhouse High School alumni