Ladd-Franklin, Christine (1847-1930)

Ladd-Franklin.jpgChristine Ladd was born in 1847 in Windsor, Connecticut. She attended Vassar College, graduating in 1869. She sought to continue her academic interests in logic and mathematics at the Johns Hopkins University, which at the time did not admit women. However, she was eventually permitted to take classes from James J. Sylvester, and her name was not to appear on the roster of students. She completed the requirements for a PhD in mathematics and logic in 1882, but was not awarded the degree until 1926 because of her gender. Nevertheless, the university allowed her to teach courses in logic and psychology from 1904-1909, after which she became an unpaid lecturer at Columbia University betwen 1910 and her death in 1930. Ladd, who married fellow graduate student Fabian Franklin, was a founding member of the Woman's Literary Club of Baltimore, where she is known in the minutes as "Mrs. Fabian Franklin." As a member of the Club, she contributed many pieces on both scientific and literary subjects. She regularly published her scientific work in Science and the American Journal of Psychology. 

Note: Two volumes of Ladd's diaries, dating from 1860-1873, are held at in the Vassar College library special collections. The second volume (1866-1873) is digitized at New York Heritage Digital Collections.

Ladd-Franklin, Christine (1847-1930)