User:JaneClawsten/Mary Josephine Crane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Josephine Crane Bradley
The Ancient Greek philosopher
Born23 April 1886
Chicago, Illinois
Died26 January 1952
Berkeley, California
SpouseHarold Cornelius Bradley
ChildrenMary Cornelia Bradley

Charles Crane Bradley

Harold Cornelius Bradley

David John Bradley

Stephen Joseph Bradley

Joseph Crane Bradley
Parent(s)Charles Richard Crane and Cornelia W. Smith Crane

Josephine Crane Bradley (1886 – 1952) was an American playwright and dramatist, and wealthy heiress socialite. She was also known as Mary Josephine Crane.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Mary Josephine Crane was born to Charles Richard Crane, American diplomat, and Cornelia W. Smith Crane. Her father was a multimillionaire iron manufacturer and she grew up wealthy.[1]

Josephine was born deaf. Her parents sought various solutions for her hearing impairment, including correspondence with Alexander Graham Bell.[2] Through letters, Bell and Cornelia discussed Josephine's education. Bell advised that she be educated with other hearing children.[3] She received voice training and her lip reading was so proficient that many people did not realize she was deaf.[2]

Her mother developed an interest in educating children with hearing impairments because of her, and became president of the board of trustees of the McCowen Settlement House for Deaf and Dumb Children in Chicago.[4]

She attended the University of Wisconsin Madison and gained a degree in agriculture. She was known as a very proficient student and remarkably intelligent. Her lip reading capability was well known, and she had an interpreter, Anna Camp, attend classes with her. Because of her dedication to learning, talents with communication, and hunger for knowledge, she was compared to Helen Keller.[4]

In 1907 when she was 20 years old, her father gave her a farm near Lake Geneva, and personally directed the work there.[5]

Marriage and children[edit]

While at UW-Madison, she enrolled in a chemistry course. The instructor was Harold Cornelius Bradley.[2] On July 8, 1908, she married Bradley.[6] As a wedding present, her father commissioned Alphonse Mucha to paint a portrait of her as the symbolic figure of Slavia, which was later used on the first Czechoslovak 100 koruna banknote.[7]

Her children were:

  • Mary Cornelia Bradley (1909-1916)
  • Charles Crane Bradley (1911-2002)
  • Harold Cornelius Bradley (1913-1969)
  • David John Bradley (1915-2008)
  • Stephen Joseph Bradley (1916-2002)
  • Joseph Crane Bradley (1919-2002)

Bradley's first daughter, Mary Cornelia Bradley, died at ate 6 from the measles and meningitis. Josephine and Harold donated money to build the first children's hospital in Madison, named after their daughter. The Mary Cornelia Bradley Hospital for the Study of Children's Diseases opened in 1920, and was later changed into the American Family Children's Hospital.[8]

While in Madison, the family lived in the Bradley House, commissioned by her father.[2]

Death and afterward[edit]

Bradley died on January 26, 1952 in her home in Berkeley, California.[9]

Career[edit]

Bradley was a dramatist and playwright.[1] She was an accomplished ballroom dancer, despite her inability to hear the music.[2]

Bradley may have been involved in the suffragist movement. In 1914, she helped arrange a talk by Crystal Eastman in Massachusetts.[10]

Published works[edit]


References/Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Mary Josephine Crane Bradley". Find A Grave. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Saul, Norman E. (2013). The life and times of Charles R. Crane, 1858-1939 American businessman, philanthropist, and a founder of Russian studies in America. Lanham: Lexington Books. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-7391-7746-4.
  3. ^ "Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Mrs. C. R. Crane, June 22, 1895". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  4. ^ a b CLASS LEADER THOUGH MUTE: MARY CRANE, WHO INTENDS TO BECOME FARMER, SURPRISES ALL. EASILY MASTERS STUDIES. RECORD AT WISCONSIN "U." PROVES HER SECOND HELEN KELLER. GIRL IS ARDENT ROOTER. INTERPRETS LIPS' MOVEMENTS. (1907, Dec 09). Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922)
  5. ^ MUTE HEIRESS WILL FARM.: MISS JOSEPHINE CRANE TO PUT AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE TO USE. (1907, Dec 10). The Washington Post (1877-1922)
  6. ^ "Josephine (Crane) Bradley | Photograph". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  7. ^ [www.muchafoundation.org/about/charles-crane "Charles Crane"]. Mucha Foundation. Retrieved 4 September 2019. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  8. ^ "Honoring Donors of the American Family Children's Hospital" (PDF). Mary Cornelia Bradley Society. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  9. ^ MRS. HAROLD C. BRADLEY (1952, Jan 28). New York Times (1923-Current File)
  10. ^ Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (1914-08-29). The Suffragist. Staten Island Museum. Allied Printing: Columbian Printing Co., Inc., Washington.

External links[edit]

List official websites, organizations named after the subject, and other interesting yet relevant websites. No spam.