WASHINGTON, March 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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SATURDAY, MARCH 30: WOMEN IN DIVINITY SCHOOL
Profile America - Saturday, March 30th. The first theological school to admit female students for divinity degrees was formed on this date in 1871, when the Boston Theological Seminary merged with Boston University. The first woman matriculated in September of the following year, and the first female bachelor of divinity graduated in 1876. In 1880, the school's second female graduate, Anna Howard Shaw, became the first woman ordained in the Methodist church. Unlike today, the census of 1870 included a survey of churches. In that census, over 72,000 denominational organizations were counted, along with 63,000 church buildings. And Reverend Shaw's Methodist denomination numbered over 6.5 million. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 3273
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 506, 526
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
