Anna Stafford facts for kids

Anna Adelaide Stafford Henriques (born August 20, 1905 – died November 28, 2004) was an amazing American mathematician. She was known for being one of the first women researchers at a very important place called the Institute for Advanced Study. She helped open doors for other women in science!

Early Life and Learning

Anna Adelaide Stafford was born in Chicago on August 20, 1905. She was the oldest of five children. Her dad managed a factory. Her parents were both children of immigrants. Her family moved around a lot, living in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Sadly, her parents passed away in 1919. After that, the children moved to live with relatives in Missouri.

Anna finished high school in 1922. She earned a scholarship from the American Association of University Women. This helped her go to college at the Western College for Women. She graduated in 1926. She studied two main subjects: Greek and mathematics. She also studied a bit of French.

After college, Anna became a math and science teacher. She taught in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. During her summer breaks, she kept learning. She took classes at the University of Chicago.

Anna earned her master's degree from the University of Chicago in 1931. Her special project was about something called the Dihedral Group. She then became very interested in topology. This is a branch of mathematics that studies shapes and spaces. She earned her highest degree, a doctorate, in 1933. Her big research paper was called Knotted Varieties.

Research at a Special Institute

After finishing her studies, Anna wanted to do more research. She applied to Princeton University. She hoped to work with famous mathematicians there. However, she was not accepted because she was a woman.

Anna didn't give up! She wrote directly to one of the mathematicians, Oswald Veblen. He had just started working at the Institute for Advanced Study. This Institute was also in Princeton, New Jersey, but it was separate from the university. After they talked, Anna was accepted!

Anna Stafford became one of only two women in the first group of researchers at the Institute. She worked there from 1933 to 1935. To support herself, she also taught at a school in Princeton. She taught in the mornings. This left her afternoons free to attend important math talks at the Institute.

Later Life and Teaching

After her time at the Institute, Anna decided she wanted to teach mathematics. She became an instructor at the University of Nebraska. In 1937, she moved to the University of Utah.

At the University of Utah, she taught many students. One of them was Tom M. Apostol, who later became a famous mathematician. He said she was his "best mathematics teacher." Anna also led the Utah group of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

In 1942, Anna married Douglas Emmanuel Henriques. He was a judge. Anna and Douglas did not have children together. But they raised his teenage son. They also welcomed and fostered two Navajo girls.

In 1956, Anna's husband got a new job. This meant their family moved to New Mexico. Anna left her job as a professor in Utah. She became a lecturer at St. Michael's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Soon after, she also taught at the University of New Mexico.

Anna became a full professor at St. Michael's in 1962. She then stopped teaching at the University of New Mexico. She eventually became the head of the math department at St. Michael's. She retired in 1971.

Anna and her husband lived in Falls Church, Virginia after they retired. Her husband passed away in 1987. Anna died on November 28, 2004, in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia.