Hall of Fame Member Biographies

Anna Lezola Lewis

Anna Lezola Lewis was appointed professor of history at the Oklahoma College for Women in 1917. She was of Choctaw descent, and taught at both tribal and public schools. At Chickasha, she served as registrar and chaired the history department. Her fields were American History and History of the Southwest. In 1930, Lewis was awarded a Ph.D. in history at the University of Oklahoma, the first woman to earn that degree. Named one of 24 prominent women in Oklahoma in 1930, Lewis was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1940. She retired in 1956, and died in 1961. In 1995, she was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame and was admitted to the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2003.