Columbian Women records

In 1894, a fire at Ford's Theater took the life of the father of Mary Chapin, one of the original thirteen women to attend Columbian University (it became The George Washington University in 1904). So that she could continue her education, the women students, under the guidance of Professor Charles Munroe, formed a group called "Columbian Women," and raised money for Mary to finish her studies. Membership was open to women students, alumnae, and wives of faculty, trustees, and officers of the University.

The major aims of the organization are the advancement of women at the University and the promotion of the interests of their alma mater. The major portion of Columbian Women's activities is the support of its Scholarship Fund for women students. The first fund was established in 1897 and since then hundreds of young women have been helped through this Fund. Three first ladies of the United States have been interested in the scholarship program - Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, Mrs. Herbert Hoover, and Mrs. Harry Truman. Mrs. Truman entertained Columbian Women members at a White House tea while her husband was in office. Over the years, the organization has also given generous gifts to the University itself, including the hospital, Women's Athletics, and the University Library.

Many distinguished women have been members, among them novelists Dorothy Betts Marvin (wife of former GW President Cloyd Heck Marvin), Mary Roberts Rinehart and Margaret Truman, Judge Sarah T. Hughes, who administered the oath of office to President Lyndon Johnson after President John F. Kennedy's death, aviatrix Jackie Cochran, and the Director of the U.S. Mint, Eva Adams.

N.B. This history note was written in 2005