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Elizabeth Gray Vining

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Elizabeth Gray Vining
Crown Prince Akihito and Elizabeth Gray Vining
Born(1902-10-06)6 October 1902
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died27 November 1999(1999-11-27) (aged 97)
Alma materBryn Mawr College
Drexel University
Occupation(s)Author, Librarian
Known forTeacher of Emperor Akihito
SpouseMorgan Fisher Vining
AwardsOrder of the Sacred Treasure
Newbery Award

Elizabeth Janet Gray Vining (1902 – 1999), was a professional librarian and author who tutored Emperor Akihito of Japan in English while he was the crown prince. She was also a noted author. Her children's book, Adam of the Road, received the Newbery Award in 1943.

Biography

Elizabeth Janet Gray, also known as Elizabeth Gray Vining, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1902. She was a graduate of Germantown Friends School and received an AB from Bryn Mawr College in 1923. In 1926, she earned an MS in library science from the Drexel Institute, and became a librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1]: 1000  She married Morgan Fisher Vining, associate director of the Extension Division of UNC, in 1929. The marriage ended in 1933 when her husband's was killed in a New York City automobile accident, in which Vining was severely injured. During her convalescence, she converted to the Quaker faith.

Vining soon became known as an author, primarily of children's books, and was awarded the 1943 Newbery Medal for Adam of the Road.[2] She had published eleven books by the end of World War II.

During the Allied occupation of Japan after the war, Vining was selected by Emperor Hirohito himself (and not the U.S. government, as is erroneously believed by some) to become a private tutor to Crown Prince Akihito, the heir apparent of the Imperial House of Japan. She did this from 1946-1950.[1] As part of her teaching program, she arranged for closely supervised occasions when four Western teen-aged boys in Tokyo would get together to help the crown prince practice English conversation.[3]

In addition to teaching English language skills, Vining introduced the children of the Imperial Household, Prince Hitachi and princesses Kazuko, Atsuko, and Takako, to Western values and culture. She also lectured at Gakushuin University and at Tsuda College. For her work, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, third class, shortly before her return to the United States in 1950.

After her return to the United States, Vining wrote a book about her experiences in Japan in Windows for the Crown Prince, which appeared in 1952. Vining wrote over 60 fiction and non-fiction books in her lifetime. She also worked on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr, as vice-president from 1952-1971 and was vice chairwoman of the Board of Directors at the same time. In 1954 Vining received the Women's National Book Association Skinner Award,[1]: 1000  for "meritorious work" in her special field".[4]

Selected honors

Partial bibliography

  • Meredith's Ann (1927)
  • Tangle Garden (1928)
  • Meggy MacIntosh (1930)
  • Jane Hope (1933)
  • Young Walter Scott (1935)
  • Beppy Marlowe (1936)
  • Penn (1938)
  • Contributions of the Quakers (1939)
  • The Fair Adventure (1940)
  • Adam of the Road (1942)
  • Sandy (1945)
  • Windows for the Crown Prince (1952)
  • The Virginia Exiles (1955)
  • Friend of Life - A Biography of Rufus M. Jones (1958)
  • The Cheerful Heart (1959)
  • Return to Japan (1960)
  • I Will Adventure (1962)
  • Take Heed of Loving Me (1963)
  • Flora: A Biography (1966)
  • I, Roberta (1967)
  • Quiet Pilgrimage (1970)
  • The Taken Girl (1972)
  • Being Seventy - The Measure of a Year (1978)
  • Harnessing Pegasus: Inspiration and Meditation (1978)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Chevalier, Tracy (1989). 29th Century Children's Writers, 3rd Edition. St. James Press. ISBN 0-912289-95-3.
  2. ^ "Newbery Awards". Retrieved 5/15/2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Read, Richard. "Portlander honored by Japanese emperor for selfless work," The Oregonian (Portland). November 4, 2009.
  4. ^ "Women's National Book Association". Purpose. Women's National Book Association: Los Angeles Chapter. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  5. ^ Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia: "The Emperor's Tutor."

References

  • Bix, Herbert P. (2000). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. New York: HarperCollins. 10-ISBN 0-06-019314-X; 13-ISBN 978-0-06-019314-0; OCLC 247018161

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