Jeanette Eaton (November 30, 1886 – February 19, 1968) was an American writer of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, primarily biography and history. Four times she was one of the runners-up for the annual

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

. She was a

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Biography

Eaton was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Arts 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 deg ...

degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1908 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1910. Eaton was a supporter of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

since at least her college years, giving her first public suffragist speech soon after she finished college. In 1915 she co-authored, along with Bertha Morton Stevens, ''Commercial Work and Training for Girls'', which examined the harsh working conditions of women for that time period. In an article in ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'' in August 1915 she argued that modern inventions, such as electricity, washing machines, and typewriters, were the "best friend" of women, not suffrage nor education. She also wrote at least one article for ''

The Masses ''The Masses'' was a graphically innovative American magazine of socialist politics published monthly from 1911 until 1917, when federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription in the United Stat ...

'', a periodical published from 1911 to 1917 which had

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, feminist, and free-love writings. By the late 1920s, she was becoming a recognized writer. She was also an editor for the children's magazine ''Story Parade''. She continued writing for feminist periodicals such as ''AWA merican Woman's AssociationBulletin'' and ''Woman's Journal''. Her strong feminist views were readily apparent in a November 1915 article she wrote for ''The Masses'':

"The woman's magazine is the savior of society, man's best friend, the final hope of our chivalric civilization. Woman's ambitions, her independence, the assertion of her own free personality are gradually but certainly inhibited by a few years of such reading".

Her writing, which included many biographies for young adults, has sometimes been thought "melodramatic" and to have "bordered on the overblown", but her biography of

Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

, ''

Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword '' Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword '' is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It is illustrated by Ralph Ray. The biography was first published in 1950 by William Morrow & Company and was a Newbery H ...

'' (1950, a 1951 Newbery Honor book) "was written in a more muted and understated style". She was given the 1959 Ohioana Award for her 1958 young adult biography of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, ''America's Own Mark Twain''. Several of her books were positively reviewed in Boy's Life. She died in

Central Valley, New York Central Valley is a hamlet in Woodbury, New York, United States. The population was 1,857 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie– Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Stat ...

. Her papers are held at the University of Minnesota Library, the Children's Literature Research Collections.

Selected works

* ''Commercial Work and Training for Girls'' (1915, coauthor with Bertha Morton Stevens) * ''The Story of Light'' (1927) * ''The Story of Transportation'' (1928) * '' A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland'' (1929) (NH 1930) * ''Jeanne d'Arc, the Warrior Saint'' (1931) * ''The Flame, Saint Catherine of Sienna'' (1931) * ''Young Lafayette'' (1932) * ''Herdboy of Hungary'' (1932) (collaboration with

Alexander Finta Alexander Finta (1881–1958) was a Hungarian-born American artist. Finta received his early education in Europe before moving onto Columbia University. He settled in Los Angeles, California in 1939 and proceeded to mainly create marble and bronz ...

) * ''Behind the Show Window'' (1935) * ''Betsy's Napoleon'' (1936) * '' Leader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and Patriot'' (1938) (NH 1939) * ''Narcissa Whitman: Pioneer of Oregon'' (1941) * ''Heroines of the Sky'' (1942) (coauthor with Jean Adams and Margaret Kimball) * ''Lone Journey'' (1944) * '' Lone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams'' (1944) (NH 1945) * ''David Livingstone, Foe of Darkness'' (1947) * ''That Lively Man, Ben Franklin'' (1948) * ''Buckley O'Neill of Arizona'' (1949) * ''Leaders in Other Lands'' (1950) * ''Washington, the Nation's First Hero'' (1951) * ''

'' (1950) (NH 1951) * ''Lee, the Gallant General'' (1953) * ''The Story of Eleanor Roosevelt'' (1954) * ''Trumpeter's Tale: The Story of Young Louis Armstrong'' (1955) * ''The Golden Stamp Book of George Washington'' (1956) * ''America's Own Mark Twain'' (1958) NH: Four children's books by Eaton were among the annual Newbery Medal runners-up, now called Newbery Honor Books.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Jeanette 1886 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers American children's writers American non-fiction children's writers Newbery Honor winners Ohio State University alumni People from Orange County, New York Vassar College alumni Writers from Columbus, Ohio Writers from New York (state) 20th-century American women writers