Origins & Early Life

Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856 – August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco, the Silver Street Free Kindergarten, in 1878. With her sister Nora during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor. Wiggin went to California to study kindergarten methods. She began to teach in San Francisco with her sister assisting her, and the two were instrumental in the establishment of over 60 kindergartens for the poor in San Francisco and Oakland. When she later moved from California to New York, without kindergarten work on hand, she devoted herself to literature. She sent The Story of Patsy and The Bird's Christmas Carol to Houghton, Mifflin & Co., who accepted them at once.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Besides her talent for storytelling, she was also a musician, sang well, and composed settings for her poems. She was also an excellent elocutionist...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• 1856 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1856
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• 1923 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1923
• August 24 (08-24) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on August 24