Agnes de Lima

Agnes de Lima (1887–1974) was an American journalist and writer on education, and a Progressive Era reformer.

Life Agnes de Lima was born in Hollywood, New Jersey, in 1887, and she grew up in Larchmont, New York, and New York City. Her family had emigrated from Curaçao and had become successful in banking, and they held conservative values.

In 1904, de Lima entered Vassar College, a liberal arts school, and majored in English. It was here that she became aware of the liberal reformist thinking of the Progressive Era. While in Vassar, she campaigned to raise the wages of maids and drifted away from her family’s conservative beliefs and became active in many reform movements such as education and feminism.

De Lima took the position of director of public relations for the New School for Social Research in New York City from 1940 to 1960 making her the de facto school historian. She retired in 1960 and lived in Greenwich Village, New York.