Best re­mem­bered as an educator, Palm­er grad­u­at­ed from the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Mi­chi­gan in 1876. She served as head of the his­to­ry de­part­ment at Well­es­ley Coll­ege (1879), then pre­si­dent (1881-87) and trust­ee (from 1888) of Well­es­ley, on the Mass­a­chu­setts state board of ed­u­ca­tion (1899), Dean of Wo­men at the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Chi­ca­go (1892-95), a dir­ect­or of the World Co­lum­bi­an Ex­po­si­tion, and pre­si­dent of the As­so­ci­a­tion of Coll­e­gi­ate Alum­nae (Amer­i­can As­so­ci­a­tion of Un­i­ver­si­ty Wo­men).

Hymns

1. How Sweet and Si­lent Is the Place