Personal Biography

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Margaret Floy Washburn was born in New York City on July 25, 1871. She was of Quaker heritage, but her father, Francis Washburn at that time was a businessman, but became an Episcopalian priest when Washburn was 8 years old (Conway, 1992; Corey-Seibold, 1982). Upon becoming a priest, Washburn's father and family moved to Kingston, New York. Her mother, who worked as a housewife and mother, was from a successful family and had finished high school after Washburn's birth. Her father did not complete a formal education (Scarborough, 1990). Washburn, an only child, was close to both her father and her mother, Elizabeth Floy (Davis) throughout her lifetime. She actively sought academic positions that were close to her parent's residence in New York (Corey-Seibold, 1982).

Washburn believed that her intellectual pursuits began at the age of five, when she realized that she was capable of thinking about herself. She was an academic child from the start; she began to read at an early age and not only learned certain intellectual pursuits, but also learned how to read and play sheet music, which she enjoyed for all of her life (Conway, 1992). She began her high school career at Ulster Academy in Kingston, New York at the age of 12. Washburn attributed much of her early academic success to her parents, because they never interrupted her when she was reading, which she reported doing during most of her leisure time (Corey-Seibold, 1982). Throughout their lives, her parents took an active interest in Washburn's work and were said to be extremely proud of all of her achievements.

She attended Vassar College from 1886-1891. Vassar College at the time did not use major as part of the required curriculum, but Washburn focused her studies in chemistry and French. Her first exposure to psychology was during her senior year; the class addressed the history of philosophy and included a text, Handbook of Psychology. At this point, Washburn's academic interests were in the fields of science and philosophy; she was intrigued by the "wonderful new Wundt's science of experimental psychology," which seemed to be a healthy mixture of both of these fields (Washburn, as quoted by Corey-Seibold, 1982). Consequently, Washburn decided to pursue a career in psychology.

Unfortunately, the academic world was very male-oriented at the turn of the century. Throughout her life, Washburn struggled with the sexist society that she lived in, but she was not known to let sexism inhibit her ability to pursue her academic goals nor was she heard to complain about the discrimination she often experienced within the academic arena. Washburn was fully confident in her abilities as a graduate student and convinced her parents to move from the Hudson River Valley to New York City so that she could live with them while pursuing a graduate education at Columbia University. Despite her determination to attend Columbia under James Cattell, Columbia would not admit a female graduate student to the University. Washburn was only allowed to attend classes. Eventually she studied under Edward Titchener at Cornell University and earned her Ph.D. from Cornell in 1894 and was the first woman in America to receive a Ph.D. in psychology (Corey-Seibold, 1982).

After receiving her Ph.D. Washburn was left with a person question as to how she should live her life. She had several options, which ranged from marriage to teaching positions, but only in finishing schools. At the last minute, she was offered a position at Wells College and accepted it, despite the fact that women's wages for teaching were drastically lower than men's (Conway, 1992; Washburn, 1930). It was the most academic teaching position she was offered, which was what mattered most to her. Washburn remained on the East Coast from 1894 to 1902 before briefly taking a professorship position at the University of Cincinnati. Washburn was treated to the male professors equally by the University's president, but preferred life on the East Coast and living closer to her parents and therefore returned to the East Coast and eventually to Vassar in 1903. Any vacation time Washburn had was spent with her parents. When Washburn's father died in 1914, she took her mother in to live with her at Vassar until her mother's death in 1924.

Washburn not only valued her relationship with her parents, but also with several friends. Her friends, who often admired her independent spirit, included William James, Josiah Royce, Robert S. Woodworth, and Leta and Harry Hollingworth. She loved traveling, poetry, literature, landscape painting, music, amateur acting, ballroom dancing, and golf (Corey-Seibold, 1982). She "embraced everything that interested her: ideas, activities, people, animals" (Corey-Seibold, 1982, p. 65-66). Washburn delighted in life and the present. Her passion for psychology and debate was loved by her many students, which is evident by the $15,407.04 gift her students gave her on her 25th anniversary at Vassar. Washburn, in turn, donated the money for scholarships for women, because of the lack of scholarships for women when she was a student. On a personal level, Washburn was known for her determination and love for the field of psychology and the adoration she showed her family, friends, and students. She suffered a stroke in 1937 and died in Poughkeepsie, New York on October 29, 1939 (Scarborough, 1990).

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