Tag: Lorna Hodgkinson

Harry Houdini was born on March 24, 1874.

Lorna Hodgkinson died on the 24th March, 1951. She was a teacher of intellectually disabled girls and the first woman to earn a doctor of education degree from Harvard University. (She was given paid leave in 1920 to study at Harvard and completed a Masters degree in 1921 and a PhD in 1922.)

Later on, back in Australia, she spoke up critically to a Royal Commission on Lunacy Law and Administration about mismanagement in care for the intellectually disabled children. The government minister, Albert Bruntnell, set up an enquiry which trashed her reputation with false allegations. She was then demoted.

She refused to accept the new position and was dismissed.

In the private sector, Hodgkinson then founded the Sunshine Institute, a live-in school for intellectually disabled kids, in the suburb of Gore Hill in Sydney.

She became a successful radio lecturer and newspaper columnist.

Harry Houdini once said of his work:

“My chief task has been to conquer fear. The public sees only the thrill of the accomplished trick; they have no conception of the tortuous preliminary self-training that was necessary to conquer fear.”

God Bless Freedom and Hard Work and The Blessing For Us All Of Beautiful Women Like Lorna Hodgkinson Who Do Good In This World

Geoff Fox, 24th March, 2023, Down Under