Viola Florence Barnes was an American historian and author, one of the most prominent female historians in the US in the first half of 20th century. Focusing on the history of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and the Maritime provinces, her most famous work was The Dominion of New England (1923).

Born in Albion, Nebraska

Albion, Nebraska

Albion is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Albion is located at ....

, Barnes was educated at the University of Nebraska and Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

. She taught at Smith College

Smith College

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

 (1933) and Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...

 (1933–1952). In 1940, she was honored by the Women's Centennial Congress

Women's Centennial Congress

The Women's Centennial Congress was organized by Carrie Chapman Catt and held at the Astor Hotel on November 25-27, 1940 to celebrate a century of female progress. The date was 100 years after the first World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840, where women were forbidden from speaking or...

as one of a hundred successful women in fields formerly closed to women.