1847-1930
1869
Christine Ladd earned her bachelors degree in mathematics from Vassar College in 1869. Upon graduation she taught science and math in secondary school. During her 10 years of teaching, she pursued her own education by taking classes at Washington College, Jefferson College and Harvard.
1876
In 1876, Christine Ladd Franklin applied to John Hopkins University even though the institution was highly against admitting female graduate students. Ladd sent her application under the alias C. Ladd. She was accepted into the university without hesitation due to her outstanding qualifications. However, Ladd’s application was declined when the university trustees found out that the “C” stood for Christine. James J. Sylvester, a professor at Johns Hopkins who knew Ladd’s work, intervened on her behalf. She was accepted as a provisional full-time student with three years of financial support at John Hopkins, but was not seen as equal to her male peers. She completed the requirements for the Ph.D. in mathematics and logic in 1882, but was denied the degree. It was not until 1926, at the age of seventy-eight, that Christine Ladd Franklin rightfully earned her degree.
Upon graduation, she married Fabian Franklin a mathematician. This choice prevented her from pursuing a career as a professor; married women were not allowed to be professors. Instead she was a per-course lecturer at Columbia University. In this unpaid position she taught one course per semester and pursued her research interests.
Her Research
In the field of mathematics, Ladd is most well known for her work in symbolic logic, which was the focus of her dissertation, “The Algebra of Logic.” Within the field of psychology, she is known for her theory on color vision as an evolutionary development. She theorized that black-white vision is the most primitive form of vision because it occurs in a variety of conditions. Color vision is theorized to be a newer development from an evolutionary perspective.
Her Activism
Besides being known for her research, she is remembered as an outspoken feminist who established a place for women in the field of science. One of her goals was to be allowed to join and attend meetings of the professional organization called the “Experimentalists” begun by Cornell psychologist, Titchener. In 1904, Titchener wrote to his colleague Hugo Munsterberg of the need of psychologists to be able to network with colleagues in an informal way. He wrote, “For many years, I wanted an experimental club—no officers, the men moving about and handling [apparatus], the visited lab to do the work, no women, smoking allowed, plenty of frank criticism, and discussions, the whole atmosphere experimental, the youngsters taken in on an equality with the men who have arrived” (February 1, 1904 HMP as cited in Scarborough and Furumoto, 113).
While Titchener mentored many female graduate students, his view on allowing women to attend the experimentalist meetings remained unchanged throughout his life. Ladd-Franklin was allowed to attend the Experimentalist meeting once. It was not until 1929 after Titchener’s death, that women were allowed to become members of the Experimentalist group.
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