Mary A. Swift

1812–1875

1 series 2 books in order

Mary Amelia Swift (1812–1875) was an American teacher and textbook writer. Little is known of her early life, though she was raised in western and central Connecticut. In 1833 she became principal of the Litchfield Female Academy, a post she held for three years, and that year, finding no adequate textbook for teaching basic science, she wrote First Lessons on Natural Philosophy–Part First, one of the first scientific texts written by a woman. She later produced a more advanced companion volume for older children.

Born

1812

Known for

First Lessons about Natural Philosophy, for Children