1. Maria Sanford was a professor of history at Swarthmore College from 1871 to 1880 and a professor of rhetoric and elocution at the University of Minnesota from 1880 to 1909.
20 Facts About Maria Sanford
1. 2.
Maria Sanford graduated with honors from State Normal School, using her dowry funds for tuition.
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Maria Sanford took the place of Anna Hallowell and served as professor of history at Swarthmore College from 1871 to 1880.
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Maria Sanford was one of the first women named to a college professorship.
5.
Dr William Watts Folwell, President of the University of Minnesota at the time, invited Maria Sanford to join the faculty.
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Dr Folwell declared that hiring Maria Sanford was one of his proudest achievements.
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Maria Sanford made strong connections with her students and challenged them with surprise tests and poetry recitations.
8.
Maria Sanford held student social events in her Como neighborhood home and gave speeches to organizations and groups across the nation.
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Maria Sanford was a champion of women's rights, supported the education of blacks, pioneered the concept of adult education, and became a founder of parent-teacher organizations.
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Maria Sanford was a leader in the conservation and beautification program of her new state, including work with clubwoman Florence Elfelt Bramhall towards creating a forest preserve which became part of the Chippewa National Forest.
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Maria Sanford retired from her University of Minnesota professorship in 1909.
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However, that did not stop Maria Sanford from reaching out to the community and nation with the power of her speeches and public service.
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Maria Sanford traveled throughout the United States delivering more than 1000 patriotic speeches, the most famous being the powerful address An Apostrophe to the Flag, that she delivered at a national Daughters of the American Revolution convention.
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Maria Sanford became head director for Northwestern Hospital, and created and served as president of the Minneapolis Improvement League.
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Maria Sanford served as the Minnesota governor's representative to a national conference on child labor.
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Maria Sanford publicized and urged public health improvement against trachoma infection blindness among children on Montana Native American reservations.
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Maria Sanford died on April 21,1920, in Washington, DC, at the age of 83.
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Maria Sanford's death was headlined in Minneapolis Tribune and other newspapers.
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Maria Sanford was the namesake of a World War II Liberty ship, the SS Maria Sanford, launched in 1943.
20.
In 1958, the state of Minnesota selected Maria Sanford to represent the state, and donated a bronze statue of Maria Sanford, created by Evelyn Raymond, to the US Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection.