author
Milicent Washburn Shinn
1858–1940
A pioneering observer of childhood and learning, she helped open new ground in both psychology and higher education. Her writing blends careful attention to everyday life with the curiosity of an early scientist.
1 Audiobook
The biography of a baby
by Milicent Washburn Shinn
About the author
Born in California in 1858, Milicent Washburn Shinn became a writer, editor, and developmental psychologist at a time when few women were able to build public scholarly careers. She studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and is widely noted as the first woman to earn a doctorate there.
Shinn also spent many years in literary journalism, serving as editor of Overland Monthly. Alongside that editorial work, she carried out close, systematic observations of infant development, and her book The Biography of a Baby became one of her best-known works.
Today she is remembered for bringing patience, detail, and seriousness to the study of early childhood. Her career stands out not only for its academic firsts, but also for the way it joined literary culture with early psychological research.