Katharine Lambert Richards Rockwell


Katharine Lambert Richards Rockwell was an American theologian, writer, and professor. Rockwell served as national secretary for the YWCA and as a member of their Board of Trustees for two terms. She also chaired the YWCA's Department of Religious Education.

Early life and education

Rockwell was born in Orange, New Jersey on June 10, 1891, to Dickinson Woodruff Richards and Sally Lambert Richards. She graduated from the Beard School in 1909. Rockwell then completed her bachelor's degree at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1913 and received induction into Phi Beta Kappa. In 1918, she received a diploma from the YWCA's training school in New York City. Studying at Teachers College at Columbia University in Manhattan, Rockwell completed her master's degree in 1925 and her Ph.D. in 1934.

Career in academia

Rockwell worked as a professor of religion and biblical literature at Smith College. She served as their director of religious work and social service. Rockwell also worked as an instructor at Teachers College at Columbia University.

"How Christmas Came to the Sunday-schools"

Rockwell authored an influential study titled How Christmas Came to the Sunday-schools for her Ph.D. dissertation. Dodd, Mead and Company and Gryphon Books published editions of the book in 1934. Gryphon Books then published a re-print of the book in 1971. Examining the history of the celebration of Christmas in the U.S., many books reference Rockwell's study, including:

Family

Katherine Lambert Richards Rockwell married theologian William Walker Rockwell in South Orange, New Jersey on November 8, 1934, after a courtship at Lake Sunapee. They had one child, Dorothy, from William's previous marriage. William Rockwell worked as a professor and librarian at Union Theological Seminary in Manhattan. The Burke Theological Library at the seminary houses a special collection of his papers from 1909 to 1952.

Published works