Born: 28 September 1856, United States
Died: 24 August 1923
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Kate Douglas Smith
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Kate Douglas Wiggin was an American educator, author, and composer. She is best known for her classic children’s novel, “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” and her compositions of children’s songs.
Kate’s devotion to children’s welfare led her to establish the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878, the “Silver Street Free Kindergarten.” Teaming up with her sister in the 1880s, they created a training school for kindergarten teachers.
After a move to New York, Kate channeled her talents into literature. She found success with works like “The Story of Patsy” and “The Bird’s Christmas Carol.” Kate was a gifted storyteller and a musician who composed music for her poems and a skilled elocutionist.
Her literary journey began with “Half a Dozen Housekeepers,” published in St. Nicholas. Following her husband’s passing in 1889, she returned to California, leading a Kindergarten Normal School while continuing her literary pursuits. Her body of work included titles like “Cathedral Courtship,” “A Summer in a Canon,” “Timothy’s Quest,” “The Story Hour,” “Kindergarten Chimes,” “Polly Oliver’s Problem,” and “Children’s Rights.”
From Famous Women: An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women. Written by Joseph Adelman, published 1926 by Ellis M Lonow Company:
Kate Douglas Wiggin, an American author, born in Philadelphia. She lived in California for several years, studying and giving instruction in kindergarten work, and organized at San Francisco the first free kindergarten on the Pacific Coast.
In 1880 she was married to S. B. Wiggin, a California lawyer. Six years after his death in 1889 she became the wife of George C. Riggs of New York.
Mrs. Wiggin has written numerous books, some of which have been unusually popular. Perhaps the best liked of her stories is “The Bird’s Christmas Carol,” published in 1888. Another popular book is “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” which was later made into a play and produced with much success.