Bessie Louise Pierce

Bessie Louise Pierce (April 20, 1886 – October 3, 1974) was an American historian known for her three-volume work, A History of Chicago.

Pierce was born in Caro, Michigan, She earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Iowa and obtained a master's degree at the University of Chicago in 1918.

In 1929, she returned to the University of Chicago at the request of Charles Edward Merriam to oversee the History of Chicago project. She completed the third volume in 1957, three years after she retired Pierce began work on a fourth volume, which was to cover the years 1894 to 1915, but it was never completed. She returned to Iowa in 1973 and died the following year.

Notable works As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673–1933. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933. A History of Chicago, volume 1: The Beginning of a City, 1673-1848. New York : A.A. Knopf, 1937. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007. A History of Chicago, volume 2: From Town to City, 1848-1871. New York : A.A. Knopf, 1940. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007. A History of Chicago, volume 3: The Rise of a Modern City, 1871-1893. New York : A.A. Knopf, 1957. Reprinted by the University of Chicago Press, 2007,