Margaret L. King
Margaret L. King entered Sarah Lawrence College in 1963 and graduated with a history degree in 1967. Her academic journey continued at Stanford University, where she earned a master's degree in 1968. She completed her Ph.D. there in 1972, marking the end of her formal training. King began teaching as an assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton in 1969. By 1972, she moved to Brooklyn College, where she would spend most of her career. She was promoted to associate professor in 1976 and reached full professor status in 1987. That same year, she added an affiliation with the CUNY Graduate Center. From 2006 to 2010, she held the title of Broeklundian Professor at Brooklyn College. King retired from active duty in 2012, earning the title of professor emerita.
King published Venetian Humanism in an Age of Patrician Dominance through Princeton University Press in 1986. This work examined how humanist culture developed within Venice under patrician control. The book won the Howard R. Marraro Prize of the American Catholic Historical Association in 1986 for best book in Italian history. Her research focused on the intersection of intellectual life and political power structures in Renaissance Venice. The study challenged existing narratives about who shaped cultural movements during that period. Critics noted her ability to connect social history with literary analysis. The book established her reputation as a serious scholar of early modern Italy. It remains a foundational text for understanding Venetian intellectual history today.
Her book Women of the Renaissance appeared via University of Chicago Press in 1991. This volume sought to recover the lives and contributions of women during the Italian Renaissance. King argued that women were not merely passive figures but active participants in cultural production. She drew upon letters, diaries, and other primary sources to reconstruct their experiences. The work received attention from scholars like Peter Burke and Barbara Becker-Cantarino. Her approach combined traditional historical methods with emerging feminist perspectives. Later works such as How Mothers Shaped Successful Sons and Created World History expanded this focus. That 2014 publication explored maternal influence on male achievement in early modern Europe. These books collectively reshaped how historians view gender roles in Renaissance society.
King edited Her Immaculate Hand: Selected Works By and About the Women Humanists of Quattrocento Italy with Albert Rabil Jr. in 1983. This anthology collected writings by and about female humanists from fifteenth-century Italy. A second edition followed in 1992, expanding the scope of included texts. She also edited Teaching Other Voices: Women and Religion in Early Modern Europe alongside Albert Rabil Jr. in 2007. In 2016, she launched a series called The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe through the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women. This editorial project aimed to bring marginalized voices into mainstream historical discourse. The series published translations and critical editions previously unavailable to English readers. King's curatorial choices emphasized diversity across religious and social lines within early modern Europe.
In 1996, King received the Helen & Howard R. Marraro Prize of the American Historical Association for The Death of the Child Valerio Marcello. That book examined a specific case involving child mortality and family dynamics in Renaissance Venice. The Society for the Study of Early Modern Women awarded her their lifetime achievement award in 2016. This honor recognized her editorship of The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe series. In 2018, the Renaissance Society of America granted her the Paul Oskar Kristeller Lifetime Achievement Award. These accolades reflected decades of sustained scholarly contribution rather than isolated achievements. Her election to the American Philosophical Society occurred in 2025, adding another layer to her professional standing. Each award acknowledged different facets of her career from research to editing to mentorship.
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Common questions
When did Margaret L. King graduate from Sarah Lawrence College?
Margaret L. King graduated with a history degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1967.
What book won the Howard R. Marraro Prize for Margaret L. King?
Her work Venetian Humanism in an Age of Patrician Dominance won the Howard R. Marraro Prize of the American Catholic Historical Association in 1986 for best book in Italian history.
Where did Margaret L. King spend most of her teaching career?
She moved to Brooklyn College in 1972 and spent most of her career there before retiring in 2012.
Who edited Her Immaculate Hand: Selected Works By and About the Women Humanists of Quattrocento Italy with Margaret L. King?
Albert Rabil Jr. co-edited Her Immaculate Hand: Selected Works By and About the Women Humanists of Quattrocento Italy with Margaret L. King in 1983.
When was Margaret L. King elected to the American Philosophical Society?
Her election to the American Philosophical Society occurred in 2025, adding another layer to her professional standing.