7. Cornelia Phillips Spencer, 1825-1908

Photograph of Spencer and her gravestone

Cornelia Phillips Spencer came from a family of academics. Her father, James Phillips, was a professor of mathematics at the University of North Carolina , while her brother Charles became professor of mathematics and engineering, and brother Samuel became a professor of law and eventually United States solicitor general under President Grant.

Cornelia grew up in Chapel Hill , and was educated in Latin, Greek, French, literature, music, drawing, and needlework. She married and moved to Alabama in 1855, but returned to Chapel Hill, along with her young daughter, June, in 1861 after her husband's death due to illness. She began her writing career shortly after the civil war, with the publication of her first work, The Last Ninety Days of the War. She went on to write about the university and to publish a weekly "Young Ladies" column in The Presbyterian. Her letters to editors and state leaders helped reopen UNC in 1875, and she is known as "the woman who rang the bell" signifiying the University's return. In 1895 she became the first woman to be presented an honary degree by the University.