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Edith Philips (November 3, 1892 – July 19, 1983) was an American writer and academic of French literature. Her research focused on eighteenth-century French literature and French emigration to the United States. She was a Guggenheim Fellow (1928) and a professor of French at
Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...
and
Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...
. In 1932, she published '' The Good Quaker in French Legend''. She served as the acting dean of women at Swarthmore and was later appointed the Susan W. Lippincott Professor of French in 1941. Philips was the founding chair of the Department of Modern Languages at Swarthmore, serving in this position from 1949 to 1960.


Early life and education

Edith Philips was born November 3, 1892, in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
to Mary Durham of Yorklyn and Jesse E. Philips of East Nantmeal Township. Her mother was a school teacher who helped assist her husband's operations. Her father served as an instructor of mathematics and was the assistant headmaster for two years at the
Rutgers Preparatory School Rutgers Preparatory School (also known as Rutgers Prep or RPS) is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school established in 1766. The school educates students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located on a campus along t ...
before opening the Philips Tutoring School in
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
, in 1927. Philips earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1913 from
Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...
. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy from
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
in 1923. She completed her dissertation entitled ''Les réfugiés bonapartistes en Amérique (1815-1830)''.Reviews of Dissertation: *


Career

Philips joined the Goucher College faculty as an assistant professor of French in 1923. She conducted research in France the summer of 1927. Philips was awarded the
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 1928 to study "the Quaker as a type in French literature, chiefly in the eighteenth century." For her fellowship, she studied in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and Russia. In 1930, Philips, then an assistant professor of Romance languages at Goucher, was conducting an "exhaustive study" on French emigration to the United States where she uncovered much on the life of Louis Girardin, the first head of the Maryland Academy of Science and friend of
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
. Philips started at Swarthmore College in 1930 as an associate professor of French. She became a full professor in 1934. Philips served as the acting dean of women from 1938 to 1939. She was appointed Susan W. Lippincott Professor of French in 1941. Philips was the founding chair of the Swarthmore Department of Modern languages from December 1949 until 1960. She retired in 1961. Philips was subsequently recognized as a professor emerita at Swarthmore.


Personal life

Philips' sister Amy was a director of the Newington Hospital for Crippled Children in
Newington, Connecticut Newington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. Located south of downtown Hartford, Newington is an older, mainly residential suburb located in Greater Hartford. As of 2023, t ...
. Her brother J. Evan Philips was a private school teacher in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. She died after a surgery at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in
Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...
, on July 19, 1983.


Selected works


Books

* * * * Reviews of ''Paris and the Arts, 1851-1896'': * *


References


External links


Guggenheim Fellow Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philips, Edith 1892 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Academics from Maryland Academics from Massachusetts Academics from Pennsylvania American women academics American women non-fiction writers Educators from Massachusetts Exophonic writers Goucher College alumni Goucher College faculty and staff Historians of French literature Scholars of French literature Swarthmore College faculty University of Paris alumni Writers from Boston American writers in French