Florence Kirk Polk was born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania on April 1, 1880 to William Polk, a newspaper editor and Lucy Cox Polk. After attending Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, she went to Mount Holyoke College from 1898-1902, graduating with a B.A. in history and zoology. She married Archibald M. Holding, an attorney, in 1904 and had a daughter in 1907. She traveled extensively throughout her life, spending summers in Paris, Austria, and Mexico, and took a strong interest in world affairs. In 1932 she published a short book in French entitled "Oiseaux de Passage," which describes two summer vacations spent in the Fontainebleau region of France. She later published a number of articles in French and English. She also exhibited her artwork, wrote and published poetry, studied music, and was an avid golfer. As a fervent advocate of higher education, she was appointed to the West Chester State Teachers College Board of Trustees in 1935. She died in West Chester, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1975 at the age of ninety-five.
From the guide to the Florence Polk Holding Papers MS 0790., 1896-1975, (Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections)
