Katherine Binney Shippen (April 1, 1892 – February 20, 1980) was an American history teacher, museum curator, and children's writer.

Early life and education

Shippen was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

, on April 1, 1892, to Francis and Ellen Shippen. She earned a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in 1914 and an M.A. 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 1929.

Career

While studying for her master's degree, Shippen taught history at the Beard School (now Morristown-Beard School) in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

(1917–26) and then at

The Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9� ...

in Manhattan borough (1926–35). She then served as the headmistress at Miss Fine's School (now Princeton Day School) in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, for the next nine years. In 1945, the

Brooklyn Children's Museum The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...

named Shippen curator of the social studies department. In the same year, she published her first book, '' New Found World''. Shippen published 21 books throughout her career and twice won the Newbery Honor Award. Several of her books have been translated into Swedish, German, Polish, Spanish, and Greek editions. She died on February 20, 1980, in Suffern, NY.

Books

References

External links

Katherine B. Shippen
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Authorities — with 25 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Shippen, Katherine American non-fiction children's writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers Newbery Honor winners Bryn Mawr College alumni Columbia University alumni Writers from Hoboken, New Jersey 1892 births 1980 deaths American headmistresses 20th-century American women writers