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Title
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Peck, Annie Smith (1850-1935)
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birthday
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1850-10-19
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Birthplace
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Providence, RI
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Death Date
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1935-07-18
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Occupation
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Mountaineer
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Educator
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Writer
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Suffragist
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Biographical Text
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Annie Smith Peck was an adventurer and a noted speaker. Born to Anne and George Peck, she was the youngest of five children. Her highly achieving brothers had instilled a sense of competitiveness in her at a young age. Peck attended Dr. Stockbridge's School for Young Ladies and Providence High School. In 1872, she graduated from Rhode Island Normal School, a prep school for teachers. Peck also taught Latin at Providence High school. She wanted to attend Brown University like her father and her brothers had done but was rejected on the basis of her gender. In 1874, she enrolled at the University of Michigan, which had only began to accept women in 1870. She graduated with a degree in Greek and classical languages in 1878. Then, in 1881, she earned a master's degree in Greek. Peck became a professor of Latin and elocution, making her one of the first women in the U.S to attain such an high academic position. In 1884, she travelled to Germany where she studies German and French, and took piano lessons. In 1895, Peck became the first woman to climb Switzerland’s Matterhorn in pants rather than in a skirt. In 1897, she climbed Mount Orizaba in Mexico, which gave her the women’s world women altitude record. In 1911, at the age of 61, she climbed Mount Coropuna in Peru, and planted a Votes For Women banner on behalf of the Joan of Arc Equal Suffrage League.
Peck never married and completely dedicated herself to her career. In 1935, she started a world tour, during this tour she got ill while climbing the Acropolis of Athens. She returned home in New York City, July of 1935 she passed away at the age of 84 from pneumonia.
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Contributor
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Phillip, Emelda
