Nell Irvin Painter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nell Irvin Painter
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Nell Elizabeth Irvin
August 2, 1942 Houston, Texas, U.S.
|
| Alma mater | University of California at Berkeley University of California at Los Angeles Harvard University Rhode Island School of Design |
| Occupation | Historian Author |
| Employer | Princeton University (emerita) |
| Known for | African American Literature; American History; American Slavery |
| Spouse(s) | Glenn Shafer |
| Parents |
|
Nell Irvin Painter, born Nell Elizabeth Irvin on August 2, 1942, is a famous American historian. She is known for her important books about the history of the Southern United States in the 1800s.
She used to be a professor at Princeton University. She was the Edwards Professor of American History Emerita, which means she retired from that special teaching role. Nell Irvin Painter has also led big groups of historians, like the Organization of American Historians.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Nell Irvin was born in Houston, Texas. Her parents were Dona Lolita (McGruder) Irvin and Frank Edward Irvin. Her mother went to college and later taught in schools in Oakland, California.
Her father had to leave college during the Great Depression in 1937. He later became a skilled laboratory technician. He worked for many years at the University of California, Berkeley. There, he taught many students how to do lab work.
When Nell was just ten weeks old, her family moved to Oakland, California. They were part of a big movement called the Great Migration. Millions of African Americans moved from the Southern states to cities across the country. Many went to the West Coast for jobs, especially in California, during the 1940s to 1970s.
Education Journey
Nell Irvin Painter went to public schools in Oakland, California. She graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1959.
She earned her first college degree, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964. While studying there, she also spent time in France. She studied French history at the University of Bordeaux from 1962 to 1963.
After her first degree, she continued her studies abroad. She went to the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana from 1965 to 1966. She then earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1967. Later, in 1974, she earned another M.A. and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Harvard University.
After retiring from teaching history at Princeton, Nell Irvin Painter decided to go back to school. She studied art at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in art in 2009. Then, in 2011, she earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. She even wrote a book about her experience called Old in Art School.
Career as a Historian
After getting her Ph.D., Nell Irvin Painter started her teaching career. She worked as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. From 1980 to 1988, she taught history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In 1988, she became a history professor at Princeton University. She was a leader there, too. From 1990 to 1991, she was the acting director of Princeton's Program in Afro-American Studies. In 1991, she was given the special title of Edwards Professor of American History. She also directed the Program in African-American Studies from 1997 to 2000. She taught at Princeton until she retired in 2005.
Awards and Honors
Nell Irvin Painter has received many special honors. Several universities have given her honorary degrees, including Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, and Yale University. In 1986, she received a Candace Award. This award is given by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Personal Life
In 1989, Nell Irvin Painter married Glenn Shafer. He is a statistician who helped create an important theory in math called the Dempster–Shafer theory.
See also
In Spanish: Nell Irvin Painter para niños
