Emily Fairbanks Talbot

Emily Fairbanks Talbot (February 22, 1834 – October 29, 1900) was an American philanthropist. Talbot and her daughter Marion Talbot founded the organization that became the American Association of University Women.

Early life and career Emily H. Fairbanks was born February 22, 1834, in Winthrop, Maine, a farmer. She was the eighth of nine children. Three of Emily's siblings died within their first two years of life.

Marriage and children Emily married Israel Tisdale Talbot in 1856, becoming Emily Fairbanks Talbot.

Health and welfare care Talbot is also described as a co-worker with her husband, "not just assisting her husband". She was particularly involved in homeopathic medical care and serving the Westborough Insane Hospital by sitting on the Board of Trustees.

Talbot supported the Massachusetts Infant Asylum since it was founded. She was a founder and then trustee of the Westboro Insane Hospital,

Talbot founded the Association of Collegiate Alumnae (1881) with her daughter Marion Talbot and Ellen Swallow Richards. The organization is now named the American Association of University Women.

The organization created a network of women college graduates, including University of Michigan, Boston University, Vassar College, Oberlin College, and other colleges and universities to support female students. It directly impacted the professional lives of teachers, but ensuring they were paid more closely to a man's pay and had opportunities for promotion beyond the instructor level. The organization supported higher learning for women, including providing scholarships and fellowships. and was buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. After her husband's death, Talbot's health began to fail. She died in Holderness, New Hampshire at her summer home on October 29, 1900. Talbot and her daughter are also interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery.