![Linda Lear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Linda_Lear.jpg)
Linda Jane Lear (born February 16, 1940) is an American historian of science and biographer.
Life and career
A native of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, Lear received her A.B. from
Connecticut College in 1962, following with an A.M. 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 1964; she received a Ph.D. in history from the
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
in 1974. From 1963 until 1965 she chaired the history department of the
Vail Deane School
Vail is a Home rule in the United States, home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the ...
, and from 1965 until 1968 held a similar position at the
National Cathedral School
National Cathedral School (NCS) is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4–12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by philanthropist and suffragist Phoe ...
. An assistant professor at
New Mexico State University from 1974 until 1976, she next worked at the
American Association of Retired Persons, remaining there until 1978. In that year she joined the faculty of the George Washington University, where she has since served as assistant director of experimental programs and associated professor. She has also worked for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
, and held a position on the board of directors of Connecticut College,
of which she is a Trustee Emeritus. Lear has also been active as a Senior Smithsonian Research Associate, a
Beinecke Fellow, and Senior Research Scholar in History at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...
. Lear married John Nichol in 1974, and is the mother of one son. She is a resident of
Bethesda,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
and
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
,
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
. She is an amateur horticulturist and collector of botanical art.
Writing
Lear developed an interest in
Rachel Carson while teaching environmental history in the 1970s. She conducted over 300 interviews over 15 years, eventually meeting Carson's former assistant,
Shirley Briggs
Shirley Ann Briggs (May 12, 1918 – November 11, 2004) was an American artist, photographer, writer, editor, and naturalist. She spent a large portion of her career participating in efforts to inform the public about the environment in regards to ...
, and editor,
Paul Brooks
Paul Brooks is a British-born film producer.
Brooks has a Humanities degree in English/Philosophy/Psychology and Sociology from the University of London. He then went into real estate development before moving into film.
In 1992 he executive ...
. She published her biography ''Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature'' in 1997; two years later it received the Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize from the
History of Science Society. She has continued to write extensively on Carson, contributing introductions to a variety of new editions of her works and editing her unpublished writings for publication.
Lear is also the author of a biography of
Beatrix Potter, titled ''Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature'', published in 2007; it has received various awards, including the
Lakeland Book of the Year
The Lakeland Book of the Year, also known as the Hunter Davies Lakeland Book of the Year is an award given annually for a book "set in or featuring Cumbria in some way", and is named for the Lake District of north west England. It was founded by wr ...
, the Bookends Prize for biography, and the Delta Kappa Gamma literary prize.
Lear's archival materials on Carson and Potter are held by the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections & Archives at Connecticut College, established in 2008.
The college awarded her its Goodwin-Niering Center Alumni Environmental Achievement Award in 1999.
Works
As writer
*''Harold L. Ickes: The Aggressive Progressive, 1874–1933'', Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1981.
*''Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature'', Holt (New York, NY), 1997
*''Beatrix Potter, a Life in Nature'', St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2007.
As editor
*''Lost Woods: The Discovered Writings of Rachel Carson'', Beacon Press, 1998.
Lear is also the author of introductions for editions of Carson's ''The Sense of Wonder'' (HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998); ''Silent Spring'' (Houghton Mifflin, 2002); and ''Under the Sea-Wind'' (2007).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lear, Linda
1940 births
Living people
American women historians
20th-century American biographers
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American biographers
American women biographers
21st-century American women writers
American historians of science
Historians from Pennsylvania
Connecticut College alumni
Columbia University alumni
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
New Mexico State University faculty
George Washington University faculty
University of Maryland, Baltimore County faculty
Writers from Pittsburgh
Rachel Carson
Beatrix Potter