21 Facts About Marion Talbot

Marion Talbot was an American educator who served as Dean of Women at the University of Chicago from 1895 to 1925, and an influential leader in the higher education of women in the United States during the early 20th century.

Marion Talbot was born in Thun, Switzerland, while her parents were on a long European trip, but grew up in Boston.

Marion Talbot was the eldest of six children born to Emily Fairbanks Talbot and Israel Talbot, who was dean of the Boston University School of Medicine.

Marion Talbot's mother was an activist and former teacher; the paucity of college preparatory opportunities for her daughters led her to work to establish the Boston Latin Academy, the first all-girls' college preparatory academy in the United States.

Marion Talbot earned an AB there in 1880 and an AM in 1882.

Marion Talbot additionally obtained an BS from MIT, where she studied under domestic science pioneer Ellen Swallow Richards, who had established her own laboratory there.

Marion Talbot initially dropped out due to poor conditions for women at MIT, but completed the degree in 1888.

Marion Talbot was secretary of the association from its founding to 1895, and president from 1895 to 1897.

From 1890 to 1892, Marion Talbot taught domestic science at Wellesley College.

Marion Talbot took responsibility for the education of undergraduate women, as the assistant to Alice Freeman Palmer, dean of graduate women.

Marion Talbot was appointed Dean of Women at the U of C in 1899, giving her responsibility for all women students at the university.

Marion Talbot worked to elevate deanship as a profession, establishing the first Midwestern regional meetings of deans in 1902.

Marion Talbot accordingly maintained strict standards for conduct, and developed a democratic "house system" in which the women lived in dedicated residence halls under the supervision of faculty; she served as resident head of Green Hall until retirement.

Marion Talbot's leadership was popular among the female students; in 1902, a university publication equated her role among the women with that of famed coach Alonzo Stagg among the men.

Marion Talbot had expelled undergraduate student Esther Mercy on grounds of bad character, and Mercy sued for $100,000 in damages; the district court found in Mercy's favor and awarded her $2,500, but the decision was overturned on appeal.

In 1915, Marion Talbot publicly defended the action of the principal of Wendell Phillips High School to allow racially integrated social activities, receiving ferocious hate mail in response.

Marion Talbot was a specialist in domestic science, and became head of the newly created Department of Household Administration at the University of Chicago in 1904.

Marion Talbot advocated a much more active and scientific approach to home economics than prevailed in subsequent decades.

Marion Talbot joined the editorial board of the American Journal of Sociology in 1895.

Marion Talbot announced her retirement from the University of Chicago in 1925.

Marion Talbot was buried at the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.