Mary Tappan Wright

American novelist

Born: December 14, 1851 · Died: August 25, 1916

Famous Persons

Who was Mary Tappan Wright?

Mary Tappan Wright (December 14, 1851 – August 25, 1916) was an American novelist and short story writer best known for her acute characterizations and depictions of academic life. She was the wife of classical scholar John Henry Wright and the mother of legal scholar and utopian novelist Austin Tappan Wright and geographer John Kirtland Wright. Wright was born Mary Tappan, in Steubenville, Ohio, or December 18 of the same year, the daughter of Eli Todd Tappan, president of Kenyon College, and Lydia (McDowell) Tappan. She was educated at Auburn Young Ladies' Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Historical significance

She married, April 2, 1878, John Henry Wright, then an associate professor of Greek at Dartmouth College and later professor of classical philology and dean of the Collegiate Board of Johns Hopkins University, professor of Greek at Harvard University, and dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The couple had three children, Elizabeth Tappan Wright (who died young), Austin Tappan Wright, and John Kirtland Wright.

Sources and further reading

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MLA

“Mary Tappan Wright.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/mary-tappan-wright/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

Mary Tappan Wright. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/mary-tappan-wright/

Chicago

“Mary Tappan Wright.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/mary-tappan-wright/.

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