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Mills, Martha Dicks Stevens, 1875-1918

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: July 29, 1875 - April 20, 1918
  • Usage: 1907 - 1918
  • Usage: 1875 - 1907

Biographical Information

Martha Dicks Stevens, the first woman to earn an engineering degree from Purdue University, was born on July 29, 1875, in Salem, Ohio to Sarah Dicks Stevens and Moses Cobb Stevens, Professor of Mathematics at Purdue University from 1883-1902. Stevens graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1894 in Mathematics and Biology, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree in 1897, and a Master of Science degree in 1898, then took non-degree study in French and Industrial Arts until 1902. While a student, Stevens was also President of the Purdue Photographic Club, Vice President of Philalethan Literary Society and YWCA, and Alumni Editor for the Purdue Exponent. After graduation, Stevens spent a year as a Presbyterian Missionary in Flag Pond, Tennessee, then taught college mathematics before retiring to care for her aging parents. Stevens married attorney John Bibb Mills on June 27, 1907, and they had four children. Martha Dicks Stevens Mills died April 20, 1918, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Citation:
The Annual Catalogue of Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1894-95). April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua175/id/36273/rec/12
Citation:
The Annual Catalogue of Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1898-99). April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua175/id/50008/rec/16
Citation:
Martha Dicks Stevens, “Element of Human Sympathy in Wordsworth’s Poetry” (West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue University, 1898), Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/theses/id/31456/rec/1
Citation:
The Annual Catalogue of Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1900-01). April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua175/id/5624/rec/17
Citation:
The Annual Catalogue of Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University, 1901-02). April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/ua175/id/50236/rec/18
Citation:
Purdue University, Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, Indiana, 1898). April 15, 2024. https://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/digital/collection/debris/id/12164/rec/5
Citation:
Martha Stevens Mills family papers, MSP 329, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette, IN. April 15, 2024.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Women in Engineering Program records

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: UA 7
Scope and Contents The Women in Engineering Program records (1935-2012; 1.85 cubic feet) documents the creation of the program, as well as its activities and successes.  Also included in the collection is information on Dr. Lillian Gilbreth and the first woman to graduate in engineering at Purdue, Martha Dicks Stevens.  The records reflect the growth of the program over the years as well as the substantial increases in the number of women engineers that were attributed to the program.  The collection would be...
Dates: 1935-2012; Other: Majority of material found in 1970-2000; Other: Date acquired: 11/06/2012
Found in: Purdue University Archives and Special Collections