Katharine Merrill Graydon (1858-1934) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and graduated from Butler University in 1878. She taught Classics at Butler from 1877 to 1883, replacing her Greek professor John O. Hopkins during her final undergraduate year when he unexpectedly passed away. In 1883 she obtained a Masters in Classics from Indiana University (IU), Bloomington and was appointed there as an assistant professor of Latin and Greek. In 1884 Katharine Merrill Graydon was forced to resign from IU after reports of a relationship with IU President Lemuel Moss (who also resigned). Merrill Graydon maintained that she was coerced into the relationship, with Moss threatening to terminate her if she rejected his advances. From there she dealt with health issues and spent time in California as the tutor to naturalist John Muir’s children, as well as an English and Greek teacher at the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1907 she returned to Butler as a professor of English Literature, receiving an honorary doctorate of English in 1928 and retiring in 1929. During her time at Butler, Merrill Graydon served as the Alumni Secretary and Editor of the Alumnal Quarterly from its first issue in 1922 until her retirement. Butler University continues to honor her by awarding Butler graduates the Katharine Merrill Graydon Alumni Service Award.