Gertrude Stein 101

Gertrude Stein... Not a name that you would commonly hear, unlike Albert Einstein or Babe Ruth. Everyone would probably know them, but who is Gertrude Stein? If I ask you that question today, many people may not be able to answer that question. Or, they might answer that she was just a famous writer and poet. After all, that was what she known for. But, there are also a lot about her that people don't know. Sure, many people may know that she was gay, but that's what makes her stand out from all the others, right? Well, let me first start out by saying that Gertrude was first born on February 3, 1874, the youngest to a family of five children. She was born right here in Pennsylvania actually to German-Jewish parents. When Gertrude was very young, her family relocated a lot because of buisiness. But, they finally settled down in Oakland, CA. That was where Gertrude attended First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland's Sabbath school. Not soon after they've relocated, her mother died, and then her father. Needless to say, the eldest brother, Michael, took over the family buisiness holdings. Michael arranged for Gertrude and another sister, Bertha to live with their grandparents in Baltimore. It was in Baltimore in which Stein found a deep appreciation for art. In Baltimore, Gertrude Stein attended Radcliff College. At that college, Gertrude studied psychology and did a very unique project which involved an intermediate btw writing and speaking. It was called "Normal Motor Automatism." At Radcliff, Stein became close friends with Mabel Foote Weeks who will play a significant part in the progression of Stein's life. Not only was Gertrude interested in art, but she also attended two years at Johns Hopkins Medical School. It turned out that she left that school without a degree. Shortly after, she moved to Paris. This is where she would spend the rest of her life and this is the period that she became well-known as Gertrude Stein.