Emily Greene Balch

Vocation

Notable

American economist and writer. A pacifist dissident, Balch was fired from her professorship at Wellesley College due to her anti-war views during World War I. She later became a Quaker and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 (the prize that year was shared with John Mott), notably for her work with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). Born into an affluent family, she was amongst the first graduates of Bryn Mawr College in 1889. She continued to study sociology and economics in Europe and the United States, and, in 1896, she joined the faculty of Wellesley College, becoming a full professor of economics and sociology in 1913. During World War I, she helped to found the WILPF League and campaigned against America's entry into the conflict. When her contract was terminated by Wellesley because of her pacifist activities, she became an editor of The Nation, a well-known liberal news magazine, acted as secretary of the WILPF (a second term in 1934 without salary for a year and a half), and did much work for the League of Nations. Balch converted from Unitarianism and became a Quaker in 1921. She never married. She died on January 9, 1961, the day after her 94th birthday. Link to Wikipedia biography