Esther M. Douty
Esther M. Douty was a notable American biographer, best known for her works aimed at young adult readers. Born in 1909 in Mount Vernon, New York, she completed her undergraduate studies at Duke University in 1930 and later pursued graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After her marriage to Harry M. Douty, she initially worked as a social worker before dedicating herself to raising her two children. In the 1960s, Douty transitioned into writing and began directing writer's workshops at Georgetown University. Her first published work, "Story of Stephen Foster," appeared in 1954, marking the beginning of a prolific writing career that included several biographies in the following decades. Douty's contributions to children's literature were recognized with various awards, including the Boys' Clubs of America certificate for "Ball in the Sky: John Wise, America's Pioneer Balloonist." She continued to receive accolades for her works, which highlighted influential figures in American history. Esther M. Douty passed away in Washington, D.C., in 1978 at the age of sixty-nine.
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Esther M. Douty
Biographer
- Born: March 24, 1909
- Birthplace: Mount Vernon, New York
- Died: December 13, 1978
- Place of death: Washington, D.C.
Biography
Esther M. Douty wrote biographies of prominent Americans for young adults. She was born in 1909 in Mount Vernon, New York. She earned her undergraduate degree at Duke University in 1930, and that year she married Harry M. Douty, an associate commissioner for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. She pursued graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1933 to 1934, and then was a social worker in Orange County, North Carolina, but eventually left this job to care for two children, Christopher and Harriet. In the 1960’s, after she had begun to write books, Douty directed writer’s workshops at Georgetown University.
Douty’s first published book was Story of Stephen Foster (1954), a biography of the American composer, and she published several more young adult biographies in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Her book Ball in the Sky: John Wise, America’s Pioneer Balloonist (1956) won a Boys’ Clubs of America certificate award in 1957. Some of her subsequent works also garnered awards: America’s First Woman Chemist—Ellen Richards (1961) was on the master list for the 1963-1964 William Allen White Children’s Book Award, while Forten the Sailmaker: Pioneer Champion of Negro Rights (1968)was cited as a notable book by the American Library Association in 1968. Douty died in her Washington, D.C., home in 1978 at age sixty-nine.