Washington, D.C. (March 31, 1866 -April 26, 1944) age 80 yrs

Georgiana Rose Simpson was a philologist who earned a PhD at the University of Chicago. Simpson enrolled at the University of Chicago in 1907, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1911. To avoid the pervasive racism on campus, she finished her studies through summer and correspondence courses. She earned her master’s degree with her thesis, “The Phonology of Merigarto”. Simpson was in residency on campus during the Chicago Race Riots of 1919. Her presence continued to generate controversy. Simpson left the campus, completed her dissertation and received her PHD on June 14, 1921, at 55 years old. She returned to Washington, D.C. to teach at Dunbar High School. Most universities did not hire Black women outside of home economics courses at this time. In 1931, at 65 years old, Howard University contacted WEB Dubois. They inquired about an encyclopedic project. They asked how she can contribute an article on the “Negro dialect” or the “philosophy of Negro folk literature.” Her final major publication was a translation of a French work. The translation detailed the biography of Toussaint L’Ouverture. He was the leader of the Haitian Revolution.

(Dr. Georgiana R. Simpson | The Journal of Negro History: Vol 29, No 2)