Priscilla Robertson (1910 – November 26, 1989) was an American historian, magazine editor, and college professor who had a special interest in European social history, especially women's experiences. She was the editor of ''

The Humanist ''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethica ...

'' magazine for several years and taught at both Indiana University and Harvard University.

Family and education

She was born Priscilla Smith 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 ...

, France, but grew up in New England. Her father, Preserved Smith, was a historian. Her mother died when she was just three years old. She graduated 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 1930 with a degree in history. She married Cary Robertson, who was Sunday editor of the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

''. They had three children and lived on a farm in Kentucky.

Career

After college, she moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, to work as a schoolteacher. She also worked as an organizer with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Following her marriage, she became the literary editor of the ''Louisville Courier-Journal''. In the early 1950s, she published her first two books. ''Lewis Farm: A New England Saga'' (1950) traced the changing patterns of life for the women of earlier generations of her own family and was privately printed. ''Revolutions of 1848: A Social History'' (1952) was the first major English-language survey of the

revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. The ''New York Times'' praised it as in the best tradition of humanism. In the mid 1950s, she went to work as an associate editor at ''

'' magazine, and moved up to editor in 1956. During her tenure as editor, she published work by the geneticist H. J. Muller, the psychologist

Abraham Maslow Abraham Harold Maslow ( ; April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actua ...

, and the science fiction writers

Miriam Allen deFord Miriam Allen deFord (August 21, 1888 - February 22, 1975) was an American writer best known for her mysteries and science fiction. During the 1920s, she wrote for a number of left-wing magazines including '' The Masses'', '' The Liberator'', and ...

and

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

. She also wrote for the magazine herself, contributing reviews and articles on diverse topics. She lost her job in 1959 over an editorial disagreement with the board of directors of the

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a 501(c) organization, non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defe ...

, the magazine's publisher. The magazine's staff resigned en masse in a show of support for Robertson. Robertson then moved on to teach at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

(1962–1968) and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1966), as well as several smaller schools. In 1982, she published her third book, ''An Experience of Women: Pattern and Change in 19th-Century Europe'', a comparative study of the situations of women in England, France, Italy, and Germany. She also helped found the

Kentucky Humanities Council The Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. The Council is supported by the National Endowment and by private contributions. It is not a state agency ...

and the Kentucky League of Women Voters, and she chaired the board of the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union. In 1956, she received the

National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqua ...

Award. Priscilla Robertson died of a stroke in Louisville, Kentucky. Her papers are held by Vassar College.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Priscilla Smith 1910 births 1989 deaths American women historians 20th-century American historians American magazine editors Vassar College alumni 20th-century American women writers American women magazine editors Southern Tenant Farmers Union people American expatriates in France