Irene Leache

Irene Kirke Leache (1839 — December 2, 1900) was an American teacher and the co-founder of the Leache-Wood Seminary, one of the premier women's schools in the post-Civil War era in Norfolk, Virginia.

[1][2][3][4][5] Utilizing her father's extensive library, Leache was self-taught in algebra, calculus, geometry and trigonometry,[6] as well as the German language.

[1] When her mother died in the latter part of 1865, Leache accepted the responsibility for raising her younger siblings,[1] simultaneously working at several positions as a governess or teacher at female seminaries.

[7] At the urging of the Presbyterian pastor, George Dod Armstrong, they opened their own school, Leache-Wood Seminary, in 1871 in Norfolk, Virginia.

"[7] They created and hosted the Fireside Club at their apartment on Saturday nights for women and men of Norfolk.

[3] They traveled extensively visiting Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Sweden.

(Earle 2008, p. 6) It was founded by Wood, to honor her friend, and later incorporated into three rooms in the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk.