Katherine Devereux Umsted Blake (July 10, 1858 – February 2, 1950) was an American educator,

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist, and writer. She served for 34 years as the first principal of

PS 6 P.S. 6, The Lillie Devereaux Blake School, is a public elementary school located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1894, P.S. 6 is regarded as the top elementary school in New York City. Overview P.S. 6 has about 80 ...

, a.k.a. The Lillie Devereaux Blake School.

Early years and education

Katherine Devereux Umsted Blake was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on July 10, 1858. Her parents were Frank Geoffrey Quay Umsted and

Lillie Devereux Blake Lillie Devereux Blake (pen name, Tiger Lily; August 12, 1833 – December 30, 1913) was an American woman suffragist, reformer, and writer, born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and educated in New Haven, Connecticut. In her early years, Blake wrote se ...

. She was educated at Miss Walker's School, and St. Mary's School. She graduated from the

Normal College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

, 1876. She studied at the School of Pedagogy,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, 1887–88.

Career

Blake served as Principal of Public School No. 6, in 1894. She organized the first evening high school for women in New York City, 1897. She served as Chair of the committee of teachers and principals that framed and presented to Mayor

William Russell Grace William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. Early life Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the C ...

the petition asking for the appointment of women on the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

. She called together the committee of women teachers and principals who made the first effort to secure adequate salaries for city teachers. She spoke in reply to President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

when he addressed the

National Educational Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

. She compiled the first statistics showing the number of dark and badly lit rooms in public schools. She was a contributor of verse and prose to periodicals. Blake served as vice-president of the Association of Women Principals of New York City. She was a member of the Special New York City Commission of the National Educational Association, and the Executive Committee of the Normal College Alumnae. She was also a charter member of the Society of Political Study. Blake favored

woman suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

Activism

Blake was a peace activist and a suffragist. Among her peace activism activities she served as the New York Chair of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

. Included in her suffragist activities she marched with hundreds of teachers in the 1915 New York parade sponsored by the Woman Suffrage Association. Blake died in St. Louis, Missouri on February 2, 1950.

References

Bibliography

External links

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Katherine Devereux Blake Papers, 1858-1950Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Katherine Devereux 1858 births 1950 deaths American suffragists Nonviolence advocates Schoolteachers from New York (state) American women educators Activists from New York City