Lucy May Gidney

Lucy Gidney was born on December 6, 1892 in Santa Barbara, California to Charles M. Gidney and Clara Jones Gidney. Her father was an insurance broker, a city councilman, and the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. Lucy obtained her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1916. She began her professional career as a teacher at the Montecito and Garfield High schools: 

The school officials tried to secure men to fill their places, but were unable to get good men to accept the work here at the salaries paid. Mrs. Martin holds that it is important to have both men and women teachers in a high school. Boys and girls should come under the influence of both men and women instructors. It was decided, however, that is better to secure good women than poor men (The Morning Press, 1921).

Gidney traveled to France in June, 1923 to study French and French history. First living in Lyon through October 1924, she studied at the University of Lyon. She then moved to the University Women's Club in Paris, where she was a scholarship student, working toward her doctorate at the Sorbonne. She returned to the U.S. in December, 1926 and taught French language and history for three years at the Chaffey Junior College, eventually becoming the head of the French department.

In April 1930, she obtained a 9-month leave in order to defend her dissertation. She was awarded the doctorate in 1930, with a "mention très honorable" from the Université de Paris with a dissertation entitled, L'Influence des États-Unis d'Amérique sur Brissot, Condorcet et Mme Roland. Her dissertation was published by Rieder in 1930, in association with the Société de l'histoire de la révolution française. A copy of her book was presented to the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques by Pierre Janet, noted philosopher, psychologist, and physician, member of the Collège de France and the Institut de France:

I have the honor of presenting to the Academy the book by Miss Lucy Gidney entitled [...]. This book was presented to the Sorbonne as a thesis for the doctorate of the University of Paris reserved for foreigners. A large part of this work was done in the library of the Institut and Miss Gidney, in depositing her book, expresses her thanks to the Institut de France for the welcome she received in the library. [...] This study is very precise and interesting, and makes a useful contribution to the history of Franco-American relations. 

After completing her work at Chaffey in 1931, Gidney went on to teach French and History at the Los Angeles Junior College in Ontario, from where she retired in 1958. She died in 1964 at the age of 71.

Throughout her career she was an active member of the American Association of University Women, named as President of the Pomona Valley Branch. She was a delegate to the 1939 Conference of the International Federation of University Women in Stockholm and the one held in Zurich in 1950.