Beatrice Fry Hyslop was born on April 10, 1899, in New York City, New York. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1919, she taught at the Mrs. Davis School in Connecticut until 1921. She then taught history at the University until 1924, when she recieved her M.A. From 1924 until 1926 she taught history at Rosemary Hall School in Connecticut. In 1926, she became an instructor of history at Mount Holyoke College. In 1929, she left to attend Columbia University, and received her Ph.D in 1934. Shortly thereafter she began teaching at Kingswood School in Michigan. In 1936, she worked at Hunter College in New York City where she taught history until 1970. In 1952, she studied in France as a Fulbright scholar. She died on July 23, 1973 in Jackson Heights, New York.