Martha Carey “Minnie” Thomas (1857-1935)

Educator. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she was the first woman to enter a graduate course at John Hopkins University in 1877 and was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from John Hopkins in 1917. She started a project to educate woman which resulted in the opening of the Bryn Mawr School for Girls Baltimore, in 1885. In 1894, she became president of Bryn Mawr College, serving until 1922. She also raised funds which facilitated the first admission of women to the John Hopkins Medical School. She died in Philadelphia and her ashes were scattered on the Bryn Mawr College campus in the cloisters of the Thomas Library. Contrary to popular belief, her body was not buried there.

Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith