Background
Edith Frances MulHall Achilles was born August 6, 1892 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Edith Frances MulHall Achilles was born August 6, 1892 in Boston, Massachusetts.
After earning her Bachelor of Surgery in 1914, Achilles received an Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy at Columbia University in 1915 and 1918, respectively.
Over the course of her career, Achilles focused on the development of memory and recognition in children, and looked into test methods for measuring these skills. Little of Achilles" early life is known until she began her education at Barnard College at Columbia University. In 1917, Edith married Paul Strong Achilles, a fellow student at Columbia University.
Edith and Paul had one daughter.
After receiving her Doctor of Philosophy in 1918, Achilles began teaching at Columbia University and worked in the fields of school and clinical psychology. Once Paul earned his Doctor of Philosophy and began working in the field of psychology too, his work largely overshadowed Edith"son
Edith worked for a number of years at Columbia University and the Psychological Corporation, which Paul directed from 1932-1946. She consulted at Oxford University and was a trustee of her alma mater, Barnard College, for several years.
Edith"s work over the course of her career centered on how children develop memory and recognition, and what methods might be used as reliable tests of this development.