Research Assistant, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)

A painter and sculptor, Miriam Davenport was studying in Paris when Germany invaded France in 1940. While attempting to flee France, she met two other Americans, Mary Jayne Gold and Varian Fry in Marseille and together they were able to aid in the evacuation of more than 2,000 refugees. (1) Following Davenport’s return to the U.S. in 1941 she became a research staff member for the Roberts Commission and the American Council of Learned Societies in New York and Washington, D.C. from September 1944 to June 1945. While in Washington, D.C., Davenport administered the Commission’s Photo Archive Project, the photographic evidence files housed in the National Archives Building.