author
Sara Yorke Stevenson
1847–1921
A pioneering Egyptologist, museum builder, and suffrage advocate, she helped shape the early University of Pennsylvania Museum while opening doors for women in scholarship and public life. Her career joined serious archaeological work with a strong commitment to education and reform.
1 Audiobook
Maximilian in Mexico: A Woman's Reminiscences of the French Intervention 1862-1867
by Sara Yorke Stevenson
About the author
Born in Paris in 1847 to American parents, she spent part of her early life in France and Mexico before settling in Philadelphia. She became one of the leading American voices in Egyptology in the late 19th century and played a central role in founding what became the University of Pennsylvania Museum, where she served as the first curator of the Egyptian section.
Her work reached beyond collections and scholarship. She lectured widely, wrote for the Philadelphia Public Ledger, and was active in civic and reform movements, especially women’s rights and suffrage. In 1894, the University of Pennsylvania awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science, making her the first woman to receive an honorary degree from the institution.
Remembered as both a scholar and a public advocate, she helped make archaeology more visible in American cultural life while pushing against the limits placed on women of her era. That mix of intellectual energy and practical leadership is a big part of why she still stands out today.