Sophia Smith - Definition and Overview

Sophia Smith (born Hatfield, Massachusetts on August 27, 1796) founded Smith College in 1870 with the substantial estate she inherited from her father and siblings.

Deaf since age 40, Smith initially considered endowing her fortune to an institute for the deaf, but changed her mind when the Clarke School for the Deaf opened in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1868. Encouraged by the Reverend John Morton Greene, she decided to endow a women's college instead. Upon her death on June 12, 1870, her fortune was willed to endow Smith College, which opened its doors in 1875.

External Links

• Smith College (http://www.smith.edu)
• Sophia Smith Collection - Women's History Archive at Smith College (http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc/home.html)
• 'A Perennial Blessing' - Celebrating Sophia Smith' (http://clio.fivecolleges.edu/smith/sophia/)