Teaching toward a world without war Elizabeth Gray Vining,
1902–1999 A Philadelphia native and member of Germantown Monthly
Meeting, Elizabeth Gray Vining published her first book for
young adults at the age of 22, and went on to publish over 60
more in her lifetime. At the age of 42, Elizabeth wrote weekly
releases on the activities of AFSC for Quaker papers and other
religious publications, when she was selected to be the first
woman to tutor the crown prince of Japan. Her name had been
suggested to the education commission by then Executive
Secretary Clarence E. Pickett, who had visited Emperor Hirohito
and heeded his request for help in finding an American tutor for
the crown prince. After listing Elizabeth’s many accomplishments
in a letter of recommendation, Clarence Pickett added that she
was “one of the most lovely and cultured women that I have ever
known,” but “she would not lift a finger to seek the
appointment.” Once chosen, the American press expressed
Elizabeth’s position as an opportunity to sp