Clara Latimer Bacon was born in the state of Illinois. She was the daughter of a pioneer New England couple and very little is known about her childhood. However, because of her profound love of mathematics, Clara Latimer Bacon would become a name to remember in education and specifically in the area of mathematics.

Clara L. Bacon graduated from Hedding College and later earned a BA from Wellesley College. She taught in Kentucky for a short period of time before moving on to teach in Illinois where she remained for five years.

Receiving a personal request from Dr. Goucher in 1897, Clara became a teacher at the Women’s College of Boston which is now recognized as Goucher College. She was hired as an instructor of mathematics. While she was teaching at the Women’s College of Boston, Clara remained committed to her graduate studies and earned a master’s degree in 1904 from the University of Chicago.

Following her dreams, Clara pressed forward and continued her education at John Hopkins University and in 1911, Clara became the first woman to receive her Ph.D in mathematics from John Hopkins University. Her dissertation would later be published in the American Journal of Mathematics.

During her lifetime, Clara Bacon was a member of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. She was the beloved teacher to many students who respected her and recalled fond memories of her whenever they were noted for their own achievements.

Clara Bacon was involved with the Foreign Policy Association and she supported the League of Women Voters. Clara Latimer Bacon died in 1948 leaving behind her profound positive influence on the world of mathematics.