Background
Bernard Aguirre was the daughter of Joab Bernard, a wealthy merchant.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Mary Aguirre
Edit Profile
Career
Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, she spent her career as an educator in Arizona. Foreign the first twelve years of her life the family resided in Baltimore, Maryland, the birthplace of Mary"s mother. In 1856 the Bernard family moved to Westport, Missouri, where Mary"s father owned a large store.
Bernard Aguirre went to college at the age of seventeen.
This would prove to be a critical period of her life, as she lived through many moments that eventually changed her views towards people of other races. She heard the rifle shot that killed abolitionist John Brown in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
When Mary Bernard returned home from Baltimore, Maryland later that same year, the American Civil War broke out, and she became a supporter of the Southern cause. She taught in Tucson-area public schools, including the Tucson Public School for Girls, for four years.
During this time, Bernard Aguirre advocated for public education against the prevailing inclination among Catholics towards homeschooling.
In 1878, she became the first teacher in Arivaca, sixty miles south of Tucson. During her tenure she was recruited to teach at the fledgling University of Arizona. She became chair of the Spanish language and English history departments at the University of Arizona in 1885.
She was the university"s first female professor, and resigned from the post in 1901.
In 1906, Mary Bernard Aguirre was injured in a Pullman train crash in California. On May 24, 1906, two weeks after the accident, she died of internal injuries.
To honor her work during the early years of the school, the University of Arizona currently awards a Women"s and Gender Studies professorship in Aguirre"s name.
