Sophia Bledsoe Herrick

Who was Sophia Bledsoe Herrick?

Sophia Bledsoe Herrick was a science writer, editor, and literary critic.

Born 26 March 1837, the daughter of Albert Taylor Bledsoe, of Gambier, Ohio, Sophia moved to New York after her marriage to the Reverend James B. Herrick, by whom she had several children. The couple separated when Herrick left the ministry to become a member of the Oneida Community. Sophia joined her father in Baltimore, contributing to the Southern Review and beginning a school for girls. She pursued an early interest in evolutionary theory by studying biology at Johns Hopkins University and published scientific articles in Century and Scribner's Magazine for a general audience. She became a frequent contributor of articles, writings as Mrs S. B. Herrick, and was for a time assistant editor to Richard Watson Gilder at Century. Her later works were on the natural history and travel.

Herrick died on 9 October 1919.