Gerda Lerner Dies At Age 92

RIP Gerda Lerner. The former professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who played a pioneering role in the study of women’s history, has died at age 92, a university official said on Thursday.

Lerner, who lived in Madison, Wisconsin, died on Wednesday evening, said Susan Zaeske, associate dean for advancement, arts and humanities at the College of Letters and Science at the university. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Lerner wrote several books in the field of women’s history, including her 1986 work “The Creation of Patriarchy” and her 1994 volume “The Creation of Feminist Consciousness.”

After obtaining her doctorate at New York’s Columbia University in 1966, Lerner went on to found the women’s studies program at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, which in 1972 became the first to offer a graduate degree in women’s history.

Lerner was a founding member of the National Organization for Women and had a role in creating Women’s History Month, according to a biography posted online by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She retired from the university in 1991.