Dr. Mary Jo Read was born in Pella, IA on February 2, 1911. Read received her BA from Iowa State Teacher’s College (now the University of Northern Iowa) in 1931 and her Master’s Degree in Geography from the University of Chicago in 1932. In 1942, Read became the first woman to earn a PhD in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over the course of her career in higher education, Read held faculty positions at various institutions: Milwaukee State Teachers College (now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) from 1940-1965, where she served as chair from 1958-1963; University of Washington (briefly) during WWII; and Eastern Illinois University from 1965 until her retirement in 1975. Besides teaching, Read was also an accomplished lecturer and photographer. She was a specialist in Latin American cultural geography, but traveled to all seven continents, including Antarctica. Read moved back to Milwaukee after retirement, and died in 1998.
