Lerner, Gerda (1920–)

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Lerner, Gerda (1920–)

Austrian-born American historian. Born Gerda Kronstein, April 30, 1920, in Vienna, Austria; dau. of Robert Kronstein and Ilona (Neumann) Kronstein; New School for Social Research, BA, 1963; Columbia University, MA, 1965, PhD, 1966; m. Carl Lerner, 1941 (died 1973); children: Stephanie Lerner; Daniel Lerner.

Influential historian, responsible for the establishment of women's history as a recognized academic field, arrived in US (1939); published 1st book No Farewell (1955); created 1st women's history department in US (1972); established 1st doctoral program in same field (c. 1980); writings include The Grimké Sisters from South Carolina: Rebels Against Slavery (1967), The Woman in American History (1971), Black Women in White America (1972), Women Are History (1975), Women and History, Volume 1: The Creation of Patriarchy (1986), Women and History, Volume 2: The Creation of Feminist Consciousness (1993) and Why History Matters (1997).

See also memoir A Death of One's Own (1978); and Women in World History.