Augusta Bertha Wagner
Augusta Bertha Wagner | |
---|---|
Born | May 19, 1895 New York City |
Died | February 4, 1976 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania |
Notable work | Labor Legislation in China (1938) |
Partner(s) | Margaret Bailey Speer |
Augusta Bertha Wagner (May 19, 1895 – February 4, 1976) was an American missionary educator in China, and a headmistress of the Shipley School.
Early life[]
Augusta "Gussie" Wagner was born in New York City, and grew up in the city's Yorkville neighborhood. She was a member of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and friend of its pastor, Henry Sloane Coffin.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree at Wellesley College in 1924,[2][3] and completed doctoral studies in economics at Columbia University.[4]
Career[]
Wagner briefly served on the YWCA board after college.[1] She taught economics at Yenching University in Beijing, from 1926 until 1942.[5][6] While teaching at Yenching, Wagner wrote Labor Legislation in China (1938), based on her doctoral dissertation.[7] After Pearl Harbor, she was held in a Japanese internment camp in Weihsien,[8] then returned to the United States in 1943. In 1944 and 1945, she worked in Washington, D.C. at the State Department.[4]
Wagner was associate headmistress at the Shipley School, alongside her partner, Margaret Bailey Speer,[9] from 1945 to 1960.[4][10][11] She also spoke at Bryn Mawr College[12] and at church and women's groups about her experiences and economic conditions in China.[13][14]
Personal life[]
Wagner lived, worked, and traveled with fellow American teacher Margaret Bailey Speer,[15] in China and in the United States, from the 1930s into the 1970s.[9][16] In 1968, Speer and Wagner were honored by the Yenching Alumni club with a supper in Honolulu.[17] Wagner died in 1976, aged 80 years.[4]
References[]
- ^ a b Poethig, Richard (June 17, 2011). "On the Sidewalks of New York". The Gotham Center for New York City History. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ Wellesley College, Legenda (1924 yearbook): 114.
- ^ "Honor Students of 1924 Class, Wellesley College, Announced". The Boston Globe. 1921-11-16. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Obituary for Augusta Wagner (Aged 80)". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1976-02-06. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-06-15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Yu, Enyi (2018-05-29). "The Gospel of Intellectuality: Indoctrinating Yenching Educational Missionaries in the Progressive Era". The Mission of Development: Religion and Techno-Politics in Asia. BRILL. p. 41. ISBN 978-90-04-36310-6.
- ^ "Yenching Sophomores Greet Wellesley Sophomore Class". Wellesley College News. May 27, 1926. p. 2.
- ^ Wagner, Augusta Bertha (1938). Labor Legislation in China. Yenching University.
- ^ "Miss Wagner Changes Ideas of Heaven After 2 Years with Japs". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1946-02-26. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-06-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Shipley Leaders to Attend Parley". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1955-02-22. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ Patterson's American Education. Educational Directories. 1953. p. 636.
- ^ "Shipley's History". Shipley School. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ "Current Events". College News. January 14, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ "Camp Sunshine Program Shown at Woman's Club". Delaware County Daily Times. 1950-03-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-06-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Church Women Plan World Day". Altoona Mirror. November 3, 1952. p. 18. Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ "A Purposeful Vision: Margaret Bailey Speer and Yenching University : Years at Yenching". The Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center for the History of Women's Education. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ Speer, Margaret Bailey (1930s). "Margaret Bailey Speer and Augusta Wagner". Speer, Margaret Bailey. "Speer Family Photo Album 3." Speer Family Papers, Special Collections Department, Bryn Mawr College Library. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ "Yenching Grads to Honor Pair". The Honolulu Advertiser. 1968-03-12. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-06-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1895 births
- 1976 deaths
- People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
- Wellesley College alumni
- American women educators
- Yenching University faculty
- American women civilians in World War II
- Women economists
- People from Yorkville, Manhattan
- 20th-century Presbyterians
- Presbyterians from New York (state)
- Columbia University alumni
- Educators from New York City