Margaret Antoinette Clapp (April 10, 1910 - 1974) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 scholar and educator of great acclaim.

Career

Clapp was born in East Orange, New Jersey

East Orange, New Jersey

East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...

 and graduated from East Orange High School in 1926 and Wellesley College in 1930. She taught English literature at the Todhunter School for Girls in New York City for twelve years while working on her Masters degree, which she obtained from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in 1937.

During and after World War II, she taught history at City College of New York

City College of New York

The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

, Douglass College, Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

, and Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College

Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...

. Her doctoral dissertation at Columbia grew into the biography Forgotten First Citizen: John Bigelow published in 1947 and winner of the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

 for Biography in 1948.

While she was president of Wellesley College from 1949 until her retirement in 1966, the college's resources and facilities were expanded substantially. Clapp was a strong advocate of careers for women.

After leaving Wellesley, Clapp served briefly as administrator of Lady Doak College

Lady Doak College

Lady Doak College is the first women's college in Madurai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1948 by Katie Wilcox, an American missionary near Tallakulam in Madurai. Today there are around 3200 students...

, a women's college in Madurai, India, then as United States cultural attaché to India, then as minister-councilor of public affairs in the United States Information Agency

United States Information Agency

The United States Information Agency , which existed from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, USIA's broadcasting functions were moved to the newly created Broadcasting Board of Governors, and its exchange and non-broadcasting information functions were...

until her retirement in 1971. The library at Wellesley is named for her.