Laura Woolsey Lord Scales (November 13, 1879 – June 12, 1990) was an American educator, college dean and supercentenarian who served as the Dean of Students of Smith College from 1922 to 1944.
Laura Scales | |
|---|---|
 Laura W. L. Scales, from the 1925 Smith College yearbook | |
| Born | November 13, 1879 |
| Died | June 12, 1990 (aged 110 years, 211 days) |
| Occupation(s) | College dean, educator |
| Known for | Dean of Students, Smith College, 1922 to 1944 |
Biography
editScales was the daughter of John King Lord (1848–1926),[1] a historian who served as acting president of Dartmouth College in 1892 and 1893;[2] her two brothers became a professor of anatomy and a publisher.[1] She graduated from Smith College in 1901 and in 1908 married Robert Leighton Scales (1880–1912), a lawyer and former English instructor at Dartmouth who coauthored the debate book Argumentation and Debate.[3] In 1913, after Scales' death, she became an instructor at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts,[4][5] before resigning in 1920 to become dean of women at the Carnegie Institute of Technology.[6] She then returned to Smith, where she served as dean of students for 22 years (1922–1944).[7] In order to create a sense of community spirit, Scales instituted a policy that all students live on the campus.[7]
Scales died in 1990 aged 110 years and 211 days, one of the oldest people in the world at the time. The Massachusetts legislature issued a resolution in honor of her 110th birthday in 1989.[8] Her papers are archived at Smith College.[7]
Awards and honors
editSmith gave Scales an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 1931, and Dartmouth College awarded her an honorary doctorate in literature eight years later.[6] In 1936, Smith College named a newly built dormitory the Laura Scales House;[9][7] notable residents have included Gloria Steinem.[10]
Selected publications
edit- Scales, Laura Woolsey Lord (1922). Boys of the Ages, their dreams and their crafts. [With illustrations.]. Boston: Ginn & Co. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
- Scales, Laura W. L. (September 1917). "The Museum's Part in the Making of Americans". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 12 (9): 191–193. doi:10.2307/3253390. JSTOR 3253390.
- Scales, Laura W. L. (April 1922). "Shall We Fear the Large College?". Educational Review. 63: 299–306.
References
edit- ^ a b "Lord family". Dartmouth Library. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "John King Lord (1848–1926), Class of 1868, Acting President of Dartmouth College (1892–1893)". Hood Museum of Art. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "Scales–Lord". The Dartmouth. Vol. 30, no. 5. October 9, 1908. p. 52.
- ^ "Resignations of Mr. Huger Elliott and Mrs. Robert L. Scales". Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin. 18 (108): 37. 1920. ISSN 0899-0344. JSTOR 4169749.
- ^ Curran, Emily (1995). "Discovering the History of Museum Education". The Journal of Museum Education. 20 (2): 5–6. doi:10.1080/10598650.1995.11510290. ISSN 1059-8650. JSTOR 40479021.
- ^ a b "Laura Lord Scale, Retired Dean, 110". The New York Times. June 16, 1990. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Laura Woolsey Lord Scales Papers". Five College Archives & Manuscript Collections. Smith College Archives. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ "Oldest 'Smithie' turns 110". United Press International. November 14, 1989. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ "Student Life - Res Life - Smith Houses - East Quad - Scales House". Smith College. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "Voices of Feminism Oral History Project – Sept. 28 and 30, 2007". Archives of Women's Political Communication. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
External links
edit- Laura Scales Papers, 1879–1990, Smith College archives
- Laura Scales photographed in the house named in her honor, by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine