Caroline Willard Baldwin (June 30, 1869 – January 31, 1928) was aphysicist, known for being the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in physics fromCornell University, and one of the first women to earn a doctoral degree inphysics from any United States institution.

Caroline Willard Baldwin was born on June 30, 1869, inSan Francisco to Alfred Baldwin and Fannie Willard. She received her primary education from her mother and theSanta Cruz, California public schools.^[1]

Baldwin attended theUniversity of California, earning a B.S. in 1892. She was the first woman to graduate from the College of Mechanics at Berkley.^[2] Baldwin placed third in her graduating class and spoke at the commencement.^[3]

Baldwin conducted her graduate studies underEdward L. Nichols at Cornell University. She earned an Sc.D. from Cornell in 1895.^[4] This was the first doctoral degree in physics awarded to a woman by Cornell, and one of the first among all U.S. institutions.^[1] Baldwin published her thesis in 1896 inPhysical Review.^[5]

From 1895 to 1900, Baldwin taught physics at theCalifornia School of Mechanical Arts, a secondary school in San Francisco. In 1898 she coauthored with Arthur Merrill a textbook entitledPhysics Course of the California School of Mechanical Arts.^[1]

Baldwin married Charles Theobald Morrison in 1898.^[1] They had two children, Frances and George. Baldwin died in 1928.^[6]

• 1869 births
• 1928 deaths
• 19th-century American physicists
• 20th-century American physicists
• 20th-century American women physicists
• 19th-century American women scientists
• American women academics
• 19th-century women physicists
• Cornell University alumni

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