Mary Kimball Morgan (8 December 1861 – 13 October 1948) was an American educator and the founder of

The Principia The Principia is an educational institution for Christian Scientists located on two campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area of the United States. Principia School, located in Town and Country, West St. Louis County, serves studen ...

, a

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an American English expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States, which is similar to publicly supported school grade ...

school in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and

Principia College Principia College (Principia or Prin) is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." "Although the College is not affiliated wit ...

, a four year college in

Elsah, Illinois Elsah is a village in Jersey County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 519. Michael Pitchford is the village's current acting mayor. It is the home of Principia College. Elsah is a part of the Metro-East reg ...

Biography

Nellie May Kimball, who went by Mary, was born in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

on December 8, 1861. Her family moved to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

when she was six years old, where she went to school and was active in the Methodist Church. She planned on attending college but was prevented by health issues. She married William Edgar Morgan in December of 1885, but her health continued to decline rapidly. She joined the Christian Science Church in St. Louis and in 1896 became a practitioner. She began

homeschooling Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...

her two sons, and soon was asked by other parents at her church to teach their children as well. She opened a home school in October 1898, hiring an assistant to teach the older children, and teaching the younger ones herself. Morgan called her school

. In 1910 she added a two-year college, one of the first in America, which expanded to a four year college in 1932. Kimball served as president of the school and college until 1937 when her son Frederic took over and she was named president emeritus. She died 13 October 1948.

Biography

References

Further reading