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Birth
Katharine was born in 1859. Her father died one moth later. Katharine's mother had to work many jobs to take care of all four children. -
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Katharine Lee Bates' Life
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Moving
Around the age of 12, Bates and her family moved to what is now Wellesley Hills to live with her mother's sister. -
College
Bates attended Wellesley College, one of the few institutions of higher learning open to women at the time. There, she studied English and Greek, among other subjects. Bates also explored her interest in poetry and had one of her works published in the Atlantic Monthly. After graduating in 1880, Bates spent several years working as a teacher. -
Shakespeare
In 1888, Bates joined the faculty of Wellesley College. She first was an English instructor and later became head of the college's English department. Over the years, Bates became known as a scholar of English literature, especially the works of William Shakespeare. She wrote several books, including The English Religious Drama in 1893. -
Pikes Peak
That same year, Bates spent part of the summer in Colorado. She was there lecturing at Colorado College. During her visit, she went on a hike to Pikes Peak. The view from this mountaintop inspired her most famous poem. "It was then and there, as I was looking out over the sea-like expanse of fertile country spreading away so far under those ample skies, that the opening lines of the hymn floated into my mind," she later said, according to the Library of Congress web page on "America the Beautifu -
Writing
In addition to her poetry and academic writing, Bates wrote of her travels abroad in such works as 1900's Spanish Highways and Byways and 1907's From Gretna Green to Land's End: A Literary Journey in England. She also served as an editor for numerous books and worked with her mother on some translations of Spanish tales. Bates even tried her hand at children's literature with 1923's Little Robin Stay-Behind. -
Death is Sweet Sorrow
She was also an accomplished academic and served as the head of Wellesley's English department for many years. She retired in 1925 and died in 1929. -
What If?
What if Katharine Lee Bates wasn’t a teacher?
Katharine wouldn’t have written America the Beautiful. The text says,” Bates attended Wellesley College, one of the few institutions of higher learning open to women at the time. Bates also explored her interest in poetry" She was there teaching at Colorado College. During her visit, she hiked up to the top of Pikes Peak. This veiw had her write America the Beautiful.
