Born as "Lucila Godoy Alcayaga" in 1889 in Vicuña, Chile, Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) was a Chilean poet, educator, and diplomat. Following the footsteps of her father, a schoolmaster in the Coquimbo region, Mistral began as a schoolteacher at the age of 15. Mistral continued to teach into adulthood and lectured at colleges in the United States such as Barnard, Vassar, and Middlebury from 1930 to 1931. She played a pivotal role in Mexico's education reform in the 1920s after gaining the attention of Mexico's Secretary of Public Education, José Vasconcelos. Vasconcelos recognized Mistral's efforts toward improving rural Mexican schools and proposed she direct the reform campaign. Mistral's involvement in the education reform resulted in many schools being named in her honor. In addition to Mexico and Chile, Mistral continued to be welcomed and celebrated by Latin American countries like Venezuela and Peru, as well as the United States.

Mistral wrote under the penname "Gabriela Mistral," and is remembered for her poetry, prose, and essays on the complexity of human relationships. Regarded as the "eminent spirit of America" by poet Jose A. Balseiro, Mistral is recognized for her works such as "Tenura," "Desolación," "Tala," and "Sonetos de la Muerte." Her literature was seen as a display of literary intelligence and as a great inspiration for Latin American women. She was accredited for vivid illustrations of Chile and Chilean memory in America, and at 56 years old, Mistral was awarded the 1945 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was the first Latin American to receive the award.

Mistral was a devout Catholic and campaigned for the welfare of children and Chileans. She often gave speeches on the social welfare and progress of Chile and addressed human geography at the 1924 Pan American Union gathering. Mistral went on to be a cultural minister in Chile and represented the country as a diplomat in Spain, France, and Italy. This globally broadened her concerns, as she is cited for proposing more care and sponsorship for the children of Rome, through the People's Mandate Committee.

In October of 1956 it was reported that Mistral was gravely ill. She passed from cancer in January 1957. In her will, she left her Nobel Prize medal and parchment to the people of Chile and her royalties and estate to American poet Doris Dana and to the children of Monte Grande, Chile. Read more about it!

The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.

The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.