Ward, Winifred Louise (1884–1975)

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Ward, Winifred Louise (1884–1975)

American children's theater specialist. Born Oct 29, 1884, in Eldora, Iowa; died following a stroke on August 16, 1975, in Evanston, Illinois; dau. of George Ward (lawyer and city official) and Frances Allena (Dimmick) Ward; graduated from Cumnock School of Oratory in Evanston, Illinois, 1905; University of Chicago, PhB in English, 1918; never married; lived with Hazel Easton, her colleague at Northwestern, for more than 50 years.

Joined the faculty of the Cumnock School (1918), which became the Northwestern University School of Speech (1920); with the sponsorship of Northwestern University, co-founded and ran the Children's Theater of Evanston (1925–50), providing a venue for students to develop their technical skills and their proficiency in acting, directing, and producing; founded the influential Children's Theater Conference at Northwestern University (1944); wrote Creative Dramatics (1930), Theatre for Children (1939) and Stories to Dramatize (1952).

See also Women in World History.