Mary Ritter Beard

Mary Ritter Beard (1876-1958), historian and feminist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and educated at DePauw University. Until the ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, she was prominent in the woman suffrage movement. She helped to organize women textile workers in New York during part of this period; after 1915 she travelled extensively in Europe and the Far East with her husband, Charles Austin Beard. The role of women in history and their rights are the themes of many of her books, which include Woman's Work in Municipalities (1915) and Woman as Force in History (1946). Some of Beard's most important writing was done in collaboration with her husband, including History of the United States (1921) and The American Spirit (1942).