Jill Ker Conway (born 9 October 1934) is an Australian-American author, best known for her autobiographies, in particular her first memoirs, The Road from Coorain. She was also Smith College's first woman president, from 1975-1985, and now serves as a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Conway was born in Hillston, New South Wales in the outback of Australia. Together with her two brothers, Conway was raised in near-t...
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Jill Ker Conway (born 9 October 1934) is an Australian-American author, best known for her autobiographies, in particular her first memoirs, The Road from Coorain. She was also Smith College's first woman president, from 1975-1985, and now serves as a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Conway was born in Hillston, New South Wales in the outback of Australia. Together with her two brothers, Conway was raised in near-total isolation on a family owned 73 square kilometres (18,000 acres) tract of land, Coorain (aboriginal word for "windy place"), which was eventually expanded into 129 square kilometres (32,000 acres). On Coorain she lived a lonely life, and grew up without playmates except for her brothers. She was schooled entirely by her mother and a country governess.
Conway spent her youth working the sheep station; by age seven, she was an important member of the workforce, helping with such activities as herding and tending the sheep, checking the...
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