MARY W. WHITNEY
1847 - 1921
The death of Professor Emeritus Mary W. Whitney
comes rather as a reminder to the older members
of the Faculty of the great loss they sustained
when ill-health forced her to withdraw from active
service, than as a sudden blow to the Faculty as
a whole. It seems all the more desirable, since she
is but a name to so many among our number, that we
should try to express to those who did not know her
something of the quality of her rare mind and per-
sonality. It is not too much to say that when she
retired, there was no member of the faculty who was
held in so much affectionate honor as Mary Whitney.
She was in intellect and character the finest type of
New England woman: in intellect steadfastly devoted
to truth, in character as steadfastly holding to
the highest ideals, with a gentle humanity and for-
getfulness of self that made her the sincere friend of
everyone. As a teacher two members of the committee
recall vividly the inspiration they derived from her
lofty conception of scientific truth and their
admiration for her patience with dull-minded. For
many years she was the Secretary of the Faculty.
Under her direction our Observatory gained an inter-
national reputation for accurate and valuable research
Entering Vassar College on its opening day, she
was throughout her active life an earnest worker for
the fullest educational opportunities for woman.
Deeply -- one may say devoutly -- interested in the
movement to secure equal political and social rights
for women, her poise, good taste and balance gained
friends for suffrage when sensational methods repelled
The breadth of her intellectual life was shown in her
fondness for philosophy and poetry, but this serenity
and catholicity of mind were accompanied by a love of
nature and by an ability to make connections, with all
human beings, including especially children, which are
found only in great souls. By all who knew her she
will be remembered as one of the most eminent who have
been connected with Vassar College
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