Margaret Hicks (architect) facts for kids

Margaret Hicks (born 1858, died 1883) was an American architect. She was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman architect to have her work published in a special magazine for architects.

Margaret Hicks: A Pioneer Architect

Margaret Hicks was born in 1858. She went to Cornell University, a well-known school. In 1878, she earned a bachelor's degree. Then, in 1880, she received a special degree in architecture.

Margaret was the first woman to get an architecture degree from Cornell University. This happened just one year after Mary L. Page became the first woman in the United States to earn an architecture degree from any university.

Her Published Work

Design for a workman's cottage by Margaret Hicks, 1878.

While she was still a student, one of Margaret's designs was published. It was a plan for a "workman's cottage," which is a small house for working-class families. This design appeared in a magazine called American Architect and Building News in 1878. It was even printed again in another magazine, The Builder and Wood-Worker, in 1883.

Margaret also wrote an important essay about "tenement housing." These were large buildings with many small apartments, often for poorer families. She wrote about how important it was for these homes to have good light and fresh air. Many architects at the time didn't pay enough attention to these details.

Margaret Hicks was part of a group of American women architects who focused on practical housing. Instead of designing for wealthy families, they cared about making good homes for working people. Other architects like Mary Gannon, Alice Hands, and Marcia Mead also worked on these important projects.

Later Life

In 1880, Margaret Hicks married Arthur Karl Volkmann. He was also an architect and had studied at Cornell University. Sadly, Margaret passed away just three years later in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was only 25 years old.

See also

In Spanish: Margaret Hicks para niños