Julia Evelina Smith (1792 - 1886)

Julia Evelina Smith

Julia Evelina Smith was an American translator and linguist and suffragist.

Julia Smith grew up on a wealthy farm in Connecticut with four sisters who were active in favor of women's education, abolition, and suffrage. Julia began studying biblical Greek in 1843, as well as Latin and Hebrew, to make a literal translation of the Bible and to clarify the predictions of Christ's resurrection in 1844. After reading the Bible in its original languages, she set about creating her own translation, which she completed in 1855.

The work is a strictly literal translation: a Greek or Hebrew word is always translated by the same word wherever possible. It was not until 21 years later, in 1876, that Julia Smith finally achieved publication at her own expense. This edition was the first complete translation of the Bible by a woman. By the time she was 84 years old, Julia Smith was still successful as a linguist and also as an activist for women's suffrage.