Esther Boise Van Deman
Esther Boise Van Deman (October 1, 1862 – 3 May 1937) was a leading archaeologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She developed techniques that allowed her to estimate the building dates of ancient buildings in Rome. Life Esther Boise Van Deman was born in South Salem, Ohio, to Joseph Van Deman and his second wife, Martha Millspaugh. She was the youngest of six children, including two boys by her father's first marriage. Education and career Van Deman entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at the age of 24 in 1886 and received her A.B. in Latin in 1891. From 1889 she worked closely with the new, young Professor Francis Kelsey, who encouraged her to study the cult of the Vestal Virgins. She stayed at Michigan, becoming one of the first women to undertake post-graduate studies there, and received her A.M. in 1891. She then became the first fellow in Latin at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania. Moving to Baltimore she taught Latin at Wellesley College, then Bryn Mawr School. In 1895 she presented a paper, "The Duties of the Vestals" at a conference organised by Kelsey. She commenced studying for her doctorate at the University of