Quick Facts
Biography
Elizabeth Lowell Putnam (2 February 1862-1935) was born (as Bessie Lowell) in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Lowell of Boston. Elizabeth grew up on her families 10-acre (40,000 m2) estate, which later be called Sevenels for the seven (7) Lowells which comprised her family, including her brothers Abbott Lawrence and Percival and her sister Amy Lowell.
In 1888, Elizabeth married her third cousin and family lawyer William Putnam, Senior. She was known for her early activism for prenatal care.
In 1927, sometime after her husband's death, Elizabeth Lowell Putnam established the William Lowell Putnam Intercollegiate Memorial Fund in order to begin a college-level mathematics competition. This contest, which continues to this day, began in 1935 under the direction of the Mathematical Association of America. Since 1992, the competition has awarded the Elizabeth Lowell Putnam Prize for outstanding performance by a female contestant.
She was the maternal grandmother of McGeorge Bundy and William Putnam Bundy.