Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Early Life

Early Life

Anne Spencer Morrow was born on June 22, 1906 in Englewood, New Jersey. Her father was Dwight W. Morrow, a partner in J.P. Morgan & Co., who became United States Ambassador to Mexico and United States Senator from New Jersey. Her mother was Elizabeth Reeve Cutter Morrow, a poet and teacher, who was active in women's education, and served as acting president of her alma mater Smith College.

Anne was the second of four children; her siblings were Elisabeth Reeve, Dwight, Jr., and Constance. The children were raised in a household that fostered achievement. Every night, Anne's mother would read to her children for an hour. The children quickly learned to read and write, began reading to themselves, and writing poetry and diaries. Anne would later benefit from this routine, eventually publishing her later diaries to critical acclaim.

After graduating from The Chapin School in New York City in 1924, Anne attended Smith College, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928. She received the Elizabeth Montagu Prize for her essay on women of the eighteenth century and Madame d'Houdetot, and the Mary Augusta Jordan Literary Prize for her fictional piece entitled "Lida Was Beautiful".