Today we meet the Canadian Radcliffe/Harvard Ph.D. in economic history (1931), Esther Clark Wright. A link to her list of publications will be found below. The main artifact for this post consists of transcriptions of documents in her graduate record in the Division of History, Government, and Economics.
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HARVARD UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND ECONOMICS
Application for Candidacy for the Degree of Ph.D.
[Note: Boldface used to indicate printed text of the application; italics used to indicate the handwritten entries]
I. Full Name, with date and place of birth.
Esther Clark Wright, May 4, 1895, Fredericton, N.B., Canada.
II. Academic Career: (Mention, with dates inclusive, colleges or other higher institutions of learning attended; and teaching positions held.)
1912-1916. Acadia University.
1918. Toronto University.
1920-21. Oxford University.
1926–. Radcliffe College.
Fredericton High School. 1920,1922-23. English and History.
Moulton Ladies College, 1923. History and Latin.
Harvard. Assistant in Business History, 1927.
III. Degrees already attained. (Mention institutions and dates.)
B.A. Acadia, 1916. Honors in Economics.
IV. General Preparation. (Indicate briefly the range and character of your under-graduate studies in History, Economics, Government, and in such other fields as Ancient and Modern Languages, Philosophy, etc. In case you are a candidate for the degree in History, state the number of years you have studied preparatory and college Latin.)
History, 1 yr.
Economics and Sociology 3 yrs.
Greek and Latin, 4 yrs. each.
French and German, 1½ yrs each.
Philosophy, 1 yr.
Logic and Ethics, 1 yr.
Psychology, 1 yr..
V. Department of Study. (Do you propose to offer yourself for the Ph.D., “History,” in “Economics,” or in “Political Science”?)
Economics.
VI. Choice of Subjects for the General Examination. (State briefly the nature of your preparation in each subject, as by Harvard courses, courses taken elsewhere, private reading, teaching the subject, etc., etc.)
- Economic Theory. S7a. Ec. 11. Courses at Toronto and Stanford (not registered).
- Labor Problems. Ec 34. Seminary at Toronto. Private reading..
- Socialism and Social Reconstruction. Ec. 7b. Private reading.
- Canadian History. Course at Toronto. Private reading. (Special Topic: The Settlement of New Brunswick). Teaching.
- [Sociology] Ec. 12. Course at Toronto. (Course credit).
- (Economic History since 1750) Ec 2. Ec 20. Course at Oxford. Assistant in Business History at Business School.
VII. Special Subject for the special examination.
Economic History since 1750.
VIII. Thesis Subject. (State the subject and mention the instructor who knows most about your work upon it.)
The Genesis of the Civil Engineer. A Study in the Economic History of Great Britain, 1760-1830. Professor Gay..
IX. Examinations. (Indicate any preferences as to the time of the general and special examinations.)
April 28 or 30, 1930. General.
Special, Tues May 19/31
X. Remarks
Professors Gay, Ripley, Mason, [Dr.] Furber, Chamberlin
Special Committee: Professors Gay, Usher, and Dr. Monroe
Signature of a member of the Division certifying approval of the above outline of subjects.
[signed] H. H. Burbank
* * * [Last page of application] * * *
[Not to be filled out by the applicant]
Name: Esther Clark Wright
Approved: December 10, 1929
Ability to use French certified by Professor A. E. Monroe, March 8, 1930.
Ability to use German certified by Professor A. E. Monroe, November 6, 1930.
Date of general examination April 30, 1930. Passed (Edwin F. Gay, Chairman)
Thesis received April 1, 1931
Read by Professors Gay and Usher
Approved June 1, 1931.
Date of special examination Monday, June 8, 1931. Passed. (Edwin F. Gay, Chairman)
Recommended for the Doctorate June 4, 1931
Degree conferred June 17, 1931
Remarks. [left blank]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
General Examination,
date and examiners requested
[carbon copy]
April 21, 1930.
Dear Sir:
Will it be possible for you to serve as a member of the committee for the general examination in Economics of Mrs. Esther Wright on Wednesday, April 30, at four o’clock? Mrs. Wright’s fields for this examination are:
- Economic Theory and its History.
- Labor Problems.
- Socialism and Social Reconstruction.
- Canadian History.
Mrs. Wright’s special field is Economic History since 1750 and she is offering course credit in Sociology.
The committee consists of Professors Gay (chairman), Chamberlin, Mason, Ripley, and Dr. Furber.
Very truly yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary of the Division
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Change of thesis title
[carbon copy]
June 6, 1931
My dear Mrs. Wright:
Professor Gay has asked me to tell you that he would like you to change the title of your thesis to
The Genesis of the Civil Engineer in Great Britain
As it is desirable to have this done before the examination, could you attend to it on Monday? The thesis is in my office.
Very sincerely yours,
[unsigned copy]
Secretary
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Radcliffe College
College Record of Mrs. Esther Clark Wright.
| SUBJECT | GRADE | |
| 1926-27 | Course |
Half-Course |
|
Economics 2 |
A minus |
|
| SUBJECT | GRADE | |
| 1927-28 2hf. | Course |
Half-Course |
|
Economics 20″ |
A minus |
|
| SUBJECT | GRADE | |
| 1928-29 | Course |
Half-Course |
|
Economics 20 |
A minus |
|
| Economics 34″ | A | |
| Economics 7b” | A | |
| SUBJECT | GRADE | |
| 1929-30 | Course |
Half-Course |
|
Economics 11 |
|
|
| Economics 12 | ||
A.B. Acadia University 1916
Source: Harvard University Archives. Division of History, Government & Economics, Ph.D. Degrees Conferred 1930-31. (UA V 453.270), Box 11.
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Course Names and Instructors
1926-27
Economics 2. Economic History since the Industrial Revolution. Professor Gay.
1927-28
Economics 20. Economic Research. Professor Gay.
1928-29
Economics 20. Economic Research. Professor Gay.
Economics 34. Problems of Labor. Professor Ripley.
Economics 7b. Programs of Social Reconstruction. Asst. Professor E. S. Mason.
1929-30
Economics 11. Economic Theory. Professor Taussig.
Economics 12. Some Fundamental Problems in Economic and Social Theory. Professor Carver.
Source: Radcliffe College Catalogue [for] 1926-27, 1927-28, 1928-29, 1929-30.
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Some of her personal backstory
…After her undergraduate study at Acadia, she studied at the University of Toronto and then at Oxford. Her studies at Oxford were cut short after just one year by her younger brother’s illness, which ended his life in October 1921. It was on the journey back to Fredericton from Oxford that she met her future husband, Conrad Payling Wright.
The courtship between the two comprised largely of correspondence over the next two years and culminated in their marriage, in 1924, on the family farm outside of Fredericton. This was unusual at the time because her family held positions of esteem in the local congregation and thus they were expected to marry in a church. After marriage, Esther Clark Wright moved to California where her husband was studying at Stanford University. She soon discovered that she was unable to have children which, though devastating, enabled her to pursue her academic studies and research at liberty. She joined her husband at Stanford, and then following that she studied at Radcliffe (Harvard University), where she graduated with a PhD in economics in 1931.
Back in Fredericton, her father had risen through the political ranks, beginning as mayor of Fredericton and eventually becoming the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. He had also opened several car dealerships in anticipation of the coming demand for automobiles. Her family’s prosperity ensured that Wright never had to depend on any other income to maintain her material comfort and this enabled her to spend time pursuing her research. This also provided her with much more independence in marriage than her female contemporaries enjoyed. Her relationship with her husband was tumultuous with the two of them often maintaining separate residences throughout their sixty-five-year marriage….
Source: New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia website article “Esther Isabelle (Clark) Wright”.
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Esther Isabelle Clark Wright’s publications, 1914-1988.
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Esther Isabelle Clark Wright
Timeline of her life and career
1895. Born May 4 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
1916. B.A. Acadia University (Wolville, Nova Scotia). Honors in Economics.
1924. July 31. Married Conrad Payling Wright.
1931. Ph.D. in economics from Harvard. Dissertation: “The Genesis of the Civil Engineer in Great Britain, 1760-1830.”
1943-47. Lectured in sociology at Acadia University.
1975. Honorary D. Litt. awarded by Acadia University
1981. Honorary Ll.D. awarded by Dalhousie University.
1984. Honorary D. Litt. awarded by the University of New Brunswick.
1990. Died June 17
1990. Posthumously awarded Order of Canada. “A prolific author and respected scholar, her excellent research has been used by many students, historians and genealogists studying Maritime history, particularly the Loyalist migration, or tracing family roots.”
Image Source: Esther Isabelle Clark from the Acadia University Class of 1916 photo.