Elisabeth Antoinette Irwin (29 August 1880, Brooklyn, New York–16 October 1942, Manhattan, age 62) was the founder of the

Little Red School House The Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, also referred to as LREI, is a school in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by Elisabeth Irwin in 1921 as the Little Red School House and is one of the city's first progressive s ...

. She was an educator, psychologist, reformer, and declared

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, living with her life partner Katharine Anthony and the two children they adopted.

Life and career

Irwin was born in Brooklyn, to William Henry Irwin and Josephina Augusta Easton. Her father was a cotton merchant. She attended the Packer Collegiate Institute and received her A.B. from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in 1903, and her M.A. from Columbia University in 1923. She was a member of the feminist intellectual club

Heterodoxy In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, wh ...

. In 1912 while a member of the staff of the Public Education Association, she began work at revising the curriculum for the children at Public School 64. She founded the Little Red School House curriculum, in Manhattan in 1921, in the red-painted annex of Public School 61. Her work there, and then at Public School 41, is described in an article for '' The New York Times'' as an experiment to demonstrate that "...the broader, more active program of the so-called progressive schools could be carried out under public school conditions." Faced with funding cuts, it appeared the experiment would end, but a group of parents came together in an ice cream parlor, urging her to start her own school and promising financial support. In September 1932 the "Little Red School House" got its own building at

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...

. At first only primary education was available, but in 1940 a high school was added. She died in the

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (previously known as New York Hospital or Old New York Hospital or City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the teaching hospital for Cornell University. ...

in October 1942. She was survived by her partner, Katharine Anthony, and their two adopted daughters, Mrs Howard Gresens of Plandome, New York and Mrs R.O. Bogue of

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. Her funeral was conducted in

Gaylordsville, Connecticut Gaylordsville is a village in the northwest corner of the town of New Milford, Connecticut, New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It was listed as a census-designated place (CDP) prior to the 20 ...

where she and Miss Anthony maintained a summer home, having called themselves the "gay ladies of GaylordsvilleMartinac, Paula (1997). The queerest places: A national guide to gay and lesbian historic sites, (p. 113). New York: Henry Holt and Company.". She was buried there alongside Miss Anthony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Elisabeth 1880 births 1942 deaths American lesbians LGBT people from New York (state) Smith College alumni People from Brooklyn 20th-century American educators American educational theorists Columbia University alumni Educators from New York City 20th-century American women educators LGBT psychologists