Henrietta Melia Larson (24 September 1894 – 25 August 1983) was an American business historian.

Life and work

Henrietta Melia Larson was born in

Ostrander, Minnesota Ostrander ( ) is a city in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 254 at the 2010 census. History Ostrander was platted in 1890. A post office has been in operation at Ostrander since 1891. The city was named after Will ...

on 24 September 1894 to Hans Olaf Larson (1858–1937) and Maria Karen Nordgarden (1858–1942). Her sister was

Agnes Larson Agnes Larson (15 March 1892 – 24 January 1967) was an American local historian. Life and work Agnes Matilda Larson was born in Preston, Minnesota on 15 March 1892, sister of Henrietta Larson. She attended St. Olaf College, graduating with a B. ...

. She received her

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and th ...

in 1918 and taught one year of high school before she became an instructor at Augustana College in 1921–22. She studied at the University of Minnesota in 1922–24, then taught at Bethany College from 1925 to 1926. Larson received her Ph.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and ''The Wheat Market and the Farmer in Minnesota, 1858–1900'' in 1926. She then taught at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

in 1926–28 before she became a research associate at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration in 1928. Together with N. S. B. Gras, she wrote ''Jay Cooke, Private Banker'' in 1936 and she was the editor of the '' Bulletin of the Business Historical Society'' in 1938. They compiled the ''Casebook in American Business History'' in 1939 and Larson was promoted to

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

that same year. She became the first woman to be appointed

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in the Graduate School of Business in 1942. Six years later, she wrote the ''Guide to Business History'' with Kenneth Wiggins Porter and she became associate editor of the '' Harvard Studies in Business History'' and then editor two years later. Larson was the senior author of the ''History of Humble Oil and Refining Company'' and ''History of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), Vol. 3: New Horizons, 1927–1950'', together with Evelyn H. Knowlton and Charles S. Popple. She was appointed professor of business history in 1960 and retired the following year. Larson died on 25 August 1983.Scanlon & Cosner, p. 141

Works

* The Wheat Market and the Farmer in Minnesota, 1858-1900, Henrietta Larson (1926) * Jay Cooke, Private Banker, Henrietta Larson (1936) * Guide to Business History: Materials for the Study of American Business History and Suggestions for Their Use, Henrietta Larson (1948) * History of Humble Oil & Refining Company, A Study in Industrial Growth, Henrietta M. Larson and Kevin Wiggins Porter (1959)

Notes

References

Archives and records

Henrietta Larson papers
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School. {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Henrietta 1894 births 1983 deaths St. Olaf College alumni Southern Illinois University faculty Columbia University alumni American women historians 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers People from Fillmore County, Minnesota Writers from Minnesota Historians from Minnesota