Gladys Cox Hansen (June 12, 1925 – March 5, 2017) was an American librarian,

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

and author. She was an expert on the history of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Early life and education

Hansen was born in 1925 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. She moved to San Francisco as a child, and lived there for the rest of her life. She graduated from Lowell High School and attended

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

(now

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

) briefly, but did not earn a degree.

Career

At age 17, Hansen began working part-time at the

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

branch of the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...

. She then moved to the main branch, and by 1963 she was in charge of the California collection of the library. In 1972, she was named city archivist by Mayor

Joseph Alioto Joseph Lawrence Alioto (February 12, 1916 – January 29, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Francisco, California, from 1968 to 1976. Biography Alioto was born in San Francisco in 1916. His father, Giuseppe ...

. In 1963, Hansen began to research the identities of those killed in 1906 earthquake. In 1989, Hansen co-authored the book ''Denial of Disaster'', claiming that the number of casualties from the earthquake was dramatically and deliberately understated. The official death toll stated in 1907 was 478, but she estimated that over 3,000 were killed. Hansen retired from the San Francisco Main Library in 1992, but continued her work on identifying earthquake victims. In 2005, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution, co-authored by Hansen, that set aside the official 1907 death count. In 1991, Hansen founded the

Museum of the City of San Francisco The Museum of the City of San Francisco is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit museum containing a collection of historic artifacts related to San Francisco. It was founded by Gladys Hansen, who was the city archivist of San Francisco. The executiv ...

. She also created a virtual museum website. Aside from her library work, Hansen established San Francisco City Guides, a volunteer organization that gives walking tours of the city. In 1997, Hansen received the Ron Ross Founder's Award from the San Francisco History Association.

Personal life

Hansen married William Hansen, who was an Air Corps pilot in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. They had a son, Richard.

Death

Hansen died of natural causes in San Francisco on March 5, 2017, at the age of 91.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Gladys 1925 births 2017 deaths 1906 San Francisco earthquake American archivists American librarians American women librarians Female archivists Writers from San Francisco 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 21st-century American women writers San Francisco State University alumni