Pauline Sperry

[1] Sperry began studying at the University of Chicago in 1913 and earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1914.

[3] She earned her PhD in mathematics and astronomy in 1916[2] and was elected to the Sigma Xi honor society.

After a year teaching again at Smith, Sperry spent the rest of her academic career at the University of California at Berkeley, beginning in 1917.

[2] At the height of McCarthyism, the Board of Regents required university employees to sign a loyalty oath.

In the case Tolman v. Underhill, the California Supreme Court ruled in 1952 the loyalty oath unconstitutional and reinstated those who refused to sign.