Katharine Coman

Katharine Coman
not stated · Public domain · source
Name	Katharine Coman
Birth date	1857
Birth place	Norwich, Connecticut
Death date	1915
Death place	Santa Barbara, California
Nationality	American
Institution	Wellesley College
Field	Economics, History
Alma mater	Wellesley College

Katharine Coman was a prominent American economist and historian, known for her work on the history of the American West and her contributions to the field of economics. She was a member of the American Economic Association and the American Historical Association, and her research focused on the economic history of the United States, particularly the transcontinental railroad and the California Gold Rush. Coman's work was influenced by her contemporaries, including Thorstein Veblen and John R. Commons, and she was a pioneer in the field of economic history, which was also explored by Charles Beard and Mary Beard. Her research also drew on the work of Frederick Jackson Turner and his Frontier Thesis.

● Early Life and Education

Katharine Coman was born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1857, and she grew up in a family that valued education and social reform. She attended Wellesley College, where she studied economics, history, and philosophy under the guidance of Alice Freeman Palmer and Katherine Lee Bates. Coman's education was also influenced by her interactions with other prominent female educators, including M. Carey Thomas and Julia Ward Howe. After graduating from Wellesley College in 1880, Coman went on to teach at several institutions, including Wellesley College and the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked with Benjamin Ide Wheeler and William D. Hyde. Her early life and education were shaped by her experiences at Wellesley College, which was also attended by Vida Dutton Scudder and Emily Greene Balch.

● Career

Coman's career as an economist and historian spanned several decades, during which she taught at various institutions, including Wellesley College and the University of Chicago, where she worked with Robert Herrick and Thorstein Veblen. She was also a member of the American Economic Association and the American Historical Association, and she participated in conferences and seminars organized by these organizations, including the American Historical Association annual meeting and the American Economic Association annual meeting. Coman's work was recognized by her peers, and she was awarded several honors, including the American Economic Association Distinguished Fellow award, which was also awarded to John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Her career was also influenced by her interactions with other prominent economists, including Irving Fisher and Wesley Clair Mitchell, who were also associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research.

● Research and Publications

Coman's research focused on the economic history of the United States, particularly the transcontinental railroad and the California Gold Rush. She published several articles and books on these topics, including The Industrial History of the United States and Economic Beginnings of the Far West, which were reviewed by The American Historical Review and The Journal of Economic History. Her work was influenced by the research of other economists and historians, including Frederick Jackson Turner and his Frontier Thesis, as well as the work of Charles Beard and Mary Beard on the economic history of the United States. Coman's publications were also recognized by the American Economic Association and the American Historical Association, which awarded her several prizes, including the American Historical Association Prize and the American Economic Association Prize, which were also awarded to Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

● Legacy

Katharine Coman's legacy as an economist and historian is significant, and her work continues to influence research in the field of economic history. Her contributions to the study of the American West and the transcontinental railroad are particularly notable, and her research has been recognized by scholars such as Frederick Jackson Turner and Charles Beard. Coman's work has also been recognized by institutions such as the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration, which have preserved her papers and publications, including her correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Her legacy is also celebrated by organizations such as the American Economic Association and the American Historical Association, which continue to promote research and scholarship in the field of economic history, and which have been influenced by the work of other prominent economists and historians, including John Kenneth Galbraith and Eric Foner.