Margaret Amidon
American educator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret Agnes Milburn Amidon (January 21, 1827 – December 3, 1869) was a teacher and principal in Southwest Washington, D.C.[1] She was the principal of Female Grammar School from 1854 until her death in 1869.
Margaret M. Amidon | |
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| Born | January 21, 1827 |
| Died | December 3, 1869 (aged 42) |
She was born in Alexandria, Virginia to George and Alice Milburn in 1827, the fifth of seven children.[2] Both of her parents died before she was twelve, and she was raised by a step-mother. She was baptized into the New Jerusalem—Swedenborgian—Church. She was tutored privately and started offering her own tutoring services when she was sixteen. In 1849 she got a job working at a primary school in the fourth district of Washington, D.C., and also converted to the Baptist Church. In 1854 she was promoted to principal of a grammar school in the district where she taught girls only.[3] On weekends she taught Sunday school.[2] In December 1862, she married Hollis Amidon. She died in 1869 of tuberculosis. After her death a commemorative book was published: In memoriam. Proceedings commemorative of the life and services of Mrs. Margaret Milburn-Amidon, late principal of the Female grammar school in the Fourth district, Washington city, D.C.[4][5]
In 1882 Amidon Elementary School was built in Southwest Washington in her honor and remained open until 1957.[3] The Amidon Promenade and Amidon-Bowen Elementary School are named for her.[6][1] In 2003 the District of Columbia Council voted to recognize June 19 as "Amidon Elementary School Graduation Ceremony Day" in Washington D.C.[3]