Early Leaders
Early leaders were men and
women who had been educated
in other fields and saw the
original field in a new way.
Most were white women who
were not typical of their time.
Benjamin Thompson
Rumford 1753-1814
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First person to apply
scientific methods to foods
and to speak of the
“science of nutrition”
Studied the construction
of kitchens
Known as Count Rumford
Edward Youmans
1821-1887
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Advocate of specialized education in
domestic economy
Published the Handbook of
Household Science in 1857
Emma Willard
1787-1870
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Founded the Troy
(NY) Female
Seminary
Campaigned for
federal aid in
educating women
Mary Lyon
1797-1849
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Devoted time to educating
young women of the poorer
classes
Founded the Mount Holyoke
Seminary (later Mount
Holyoke College) in 1837,
the first institution of higher
education in the U.S. for
women
Catherine Beecher
1800-1879
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Established the
Hartford (CT)
Seminary
Wrote Treatise on
Domestic Economy,
first textbook on
home economics
Wilbur Atwater
1844-1907
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Early proponent of the
science of nutrition
Organized the office of
Experiment Stations in
the USDA
Produced bulletins on
foods and food values
Ellen Swallow Richards
1842-1911
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Recognized founder of
home economics
First to apply scientific
facts and principles to
the home
Specialized as a sanitary
chemist at MIT
First president of
American Home
Economics Association
Melvil Dewey
1851-1931
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Developed the
Dewey Decimal
System
Hosted the Lake
Placid
Conferences
Alfred True
1853-1929
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Pioneer in administration,
teaching and extension
home economics
Specialized in human
nutrition
Chief of the Office of
Experiment Stations after
Atwater
Helen Atwater
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Daughter of Wilbur
Atwater
Early editor of the
Journal of Home
Economics
Active in developing
recognition of Home
Economics in
Washington, D.C.
Annie Godfrey Dewey
1850-1922
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Hosted the Lake Placid
Conferences with
husband Melvil Dewey
Helped in the
organization of the study
of home economics for
schools and universities
Grace Dodge
1856-1914
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Instrumental in
establishing Teachers
College of Columbia
University
Involved with
international
education of women
Charles Langworthy
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Chemist specializing
in the study of
nutrition
Early writer in the
Journal of Home
Economics
Isabel Bevier
1860-1940
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Worked as a chemist
with Atwater and
Langworthy
Taught science at the
college level
Established Home
Economics at the
University of Illinois
Caroline Hunt
1865-1927
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Worked with Jane
Addams at Hull House
on a USDA study
Known for work in
food preparation and
food values
Biographer of Ellen
Richards
Benjamin Andrews
1877-1963
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Attended the Lake Placid
Conference
First secretary/treasurer of
American Home Economics
Association
First editor of the Journal of
Home Economics
Emphasized the relationship of
psychology and home economics
Ava Milam Clark
1884-1976
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Head of Domestic Science at Oregon Agricultural
College in 1911 - broadened the base of
education in Home Economics and Home
Economics Extension
Developed Home
Economics education
in the Orient
First head of Food and
Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations
Louise Stanley
1883-1954
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Chaired the Department
of Home Economics at
the University of Missouri
First woman to hold an
administrative position in
the United States
Department of
Agriculture (USDA)
Alice Norton
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Attended the first Lake Placid
Conference
Taught at the University of
Chicago
Worked as a dietitian in Cook
County from 1913-1915
Editor of the Journal of Home
Economics - 1915-1920
Martha Van Rensselaer
1864-1932
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School commissioner in New
York state
President of American Home
Economics Association - 1915
Worked to bring extension work
to the attention of AHEA
Worked with the US Food
Administration in WWI
In Belgium, studied needs of
women and children
Mary Hinman Abel
1850-1938
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Worked with Ellen Richards in
the New England Kitchen and
the Rumford Kitchen
Experiment
Attended Lake Placid
Conferences
Emphasized household
management
Charter member of American
Home Economics Association
Sarah Arnold
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First Dean of Simmons
College School of Household
Economics (Mass.)
Attended Lake Placid
Conferences
Charter member of American
Home Economics Association
President of AHEA in 1913
Anna Barrows
1861-1948
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Helped develop the first Lake
Placid Conference
Established the first home
economics publication in
1894
Abby Marlatt
1869-1943
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Early member of the
Lake Placid
Conferences
Appointed by President
Hoover to co-chair the
Conference on Home
Building and Home
Ownership in 1931
Edna Noble White
1880-1954
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Pioneer in the study of Child
Development and Family
Life Education
Dean of Home Economics at
Ohio State
Founding director of the
Merrill-Palmer Institute
Leader in education for
home and family life
Leta Bane
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Served American Home
Economics Association as
executive secretary, vicepresident, and president
Career included extension,
journalism, teaching and
administration
Biographer of Isabel Bevier