Marguerite Lehr (October 22, 1898 – December 14, 1987) was an American mathematician who studied

algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically studying zeros of multivariate polynomials. Modern algebraic geometry is based on the use of abstract algebraic techniques, mainly from commutative algebra, for solving geometrical ...

, humanism in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, and mathematics education. Biography on p.353-356 of th
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Early life and education

Born on October 22, 1898, to Margaret Kreuter and George Lehr in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Marguerite Lehr attended Goucher College for her undergraduate education and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1919. After her undergraduate education, Lehr moved to Rome to study at the University of Rome for the 1923–1924 academic year, funded by the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

and the M. Carey Thomas University Fellowship. In 1925, Lehr earned her Ph.D. at Bryn Mawr College.

Career and research

After earning her doctorate, Lehr stayed at her alma mater, Bryn Mawr, as an instructor; she was promoted to associate lecturer in 1929, assistant professor in 1935, and associate professor in 1937. In 1955, she was made a full professor. While at Bryn Mawr, she had temporary or honorary appointments at several other universities. At Johns Hopkins University, she was an honorary fellow from 1931 to 1932; she was also a visiting fellow at Princeton University from 1956 to 1957. In 1958 she was given a traveling lectureship by the

Mathematical Association of America The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure a ...

and the National Science Foundation, and was funded to give lectures across the country. She also worked with the MAA and NBC to produce educational films about mathematics, and conducted a televised lecture course on mathematics in 1953 and 1954. While at Princeton, and for the following decade, she was a member of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Award committee. She was also a member of the

International Federation of University Women Graduate Women International (GWI), originally named the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), is an international organisation for women university graduates. IFUW was founded in 1919 following the First World War by both British and ...

awards committee. Lehr lectured at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

in the summer of 1944, and researched at the

Institut Henri Poincaré The Henri Poincaré Institute (or IHP for ''Institut Henri Poincaré'') is a mathematics research institute part of Sorbonne University, in association with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). It is located in the 5th arrond ...

in Paris in 1950.

Honors and awards

Lehr was honored by Goucher College for her work with a "distinguished citation" in 1954. She was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, a member of the American Mathematical Society, the

International Biometric Society The International Biometric Society (IBS) is an international professional and academic society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical theory and methods in the biosciences, including biostatistics. It sponsors ...

, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehr, Marguerite American women scientists 20th-century American mathematicians 1898 births 1987 deaths Bryn Mawr College alumni Bryn Mawr College faculty Goucher College alumni Princeton University fellows People from Baltimore Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American mathematics educators American women academics 20th-century American women mathematicians