Katharine Seymour Day (May 8, 1870 - June 4, 1964) was an Americanpreservationist fromHartford, Connecticut. She worked as a member of the Hartford City Planning Commission to preserve historic homes in Connecticut and helped establish theChildren’s Museum of Hartford and the home ofMark Twain as a memorial. She served as president of the Mark Twain Library and Memorial Commission.[1] She was inducted into theConnecticut Women's Hall of Fame in 1994. TheKatharine Seymour Day House has been preserved as part of theHarriet Beecher Stowe House Museum.
Day was born in Hartford, Connecticut on May 8, 1870, to Alice Beecher (née Hooker) Day andJohn Calvin Day. She was a granddaughter ofIsabella Beecher Hooker and a grandniece ofHarriet Beecher Stowe. She attendedHartford Public High School but left in 1887 when her family moved to Europe. She became interested in painting while living in Europe and studied thePointillism technique in Paris and exhibited her work there. In 1896 she moved to New York City and studied art underWilliam Merritt Chase. She returned to Paris to study at theAcademie Julian.[2][3] She moved back to New York after the death of her father and worked with the New York Women's Municipal League to defeatTammany Hall. She returned to school in 1918 and received her master's degree in psychology fromRadcliffe College at the age of 52.[4] She received a graduate degree in history fromTrinity College in 1936 when she was 66.[2]
In 1924, Day purchased and lived in the home of her great-aunt Harriet Beecher Stowe in Hartford, Connecticut; this became theHarriet Beecher Stowe House museum in 1968.[1] Her preservation work led her to save many structures, including the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, the Mark Twain House, and what is now referred to as the Katharine Seymour Day House (which she purchased in 1941 and which would eventually be incorporated into the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center). All these buildings are located near the intersection of Farmington Avenue and Forrest Street in Hartford, Connecticut.
Day died on June 4, 1964, in Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of 94;[1] Her body was interred inCedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut).
She was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame for her work in historical preservation andwomen's suffrage.[2]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
