Ellen Swallow Richards: The Original Home Economics Superwoman
In the northern farm country of rural Massachusetts, Ellen Swallow was born to Fanny and Peter Swallow in 1842. An only child, she was home schooled by her parents who were both teachers. She thrived on the clean outdoor environment and nearly became a tomboy were it not for her mother’s influence. She learned at an early age to accomplish all the domestic chores in the home since her mother experienced poor health during much of Ellen’s early years. She was an accomplished cook, housekeeper, seamstress, and gardener. She also was an avid reader and often had a book in her hand, even while navigating the stairway. She was astute in math as well as organizational skills and was a great help to her father as he operated various merchantile establishments throughout northern Massachussetts.
She attended Westford Academy and successfully taught school for a short time. However, she languished in a severe time of depression as she realized her life was not fulfilled. She desired greater educational challenges and felt thwarted that none were open to women in New England at the time. When she learned about a new women’s college in New York called Vassar, she rebounded from her depression and began saving money to attend. She entered as a third-year student and thrived with the rigorous study. She was interested in astronomy but could see no practial applications, so she turned to chemistry. In the field of chemistry she could envision solutions to many problems of the day including poor air and water quality, poor sanitation, and nutritionally inadequate diets.
After Vassar, she felt once again the doors were closed to women interested in further scientific study. She applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was eventually admitted as a special student — officials wanted no complaints about a woman in class, hence the special student status. Her early years at MIT provided the scientific study she desired, and she eventually became an internationally recognized expert in water quality and was sought after as a consultant. In time, she became the first woman instructor at MIT and continued to teach there the rest of her life. She opened the doors for women in science and walked where no woman had walked before.
While at MIT, Ellen vigorously campaigned for more women to be admitted and eventually completed a Women’s Laboratory for women in science. She worked tirelessly for more educational opportunities for women in education, and with Marion Talbot, co-founded the organization we know today as the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She provided correspondence courses for women who wanted to teach science. She orchestrated the first “take out” meals in the New England Kitchen and went on to organize the school lunch program which still exists today. Through her efforts in this arena, Ellen became interested in the science of nutrition and championed nutrition education for the masses to encourage people to select a more healthy diet and ultimately enjoy a better quality of life. She was solely responsible for designing the Rumford Kitchen exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The kitchen provided nutritious meals to thousands of fairgoers, along with a healthy dose of nutrition education. She shunned an invitation to participate in the Women’s Building at the fair as she said none of her research was just women’s work, but rather information for all.
Ellen traveled extensively to the far reaches of the country and even abroad in an effort to reach others with her scientific information. She lectured and published extensively and kept a dizzying schedule that could derail even the most energetic person. Late in the 19th century, she convened a group of contemporaries to discuss the essence of domestic science and how the elements of this discipline would ultimately improve the quality of life for many individuals and families. They met at pristine Lake Placid, New York, at the invitation of Melvile Dewey. Over the next 10 years, these educators worked tirelessly to elevate the discipline, which was to become home economics, to a legitimate profession. Ellen wanted to call this "oekology," the science of right living, or "euthenics," the science of controllable environment. However, the name of "home economics" was finally selected. Ellen was a visionary leader who could see how all things work together, and by 1909, the American Home Economics Association was a reality.
Ellen died before giving birth to and solidifying her real love, the oekology movement as an intricate link to science, the environment, and human interaction. However, her legacy lives on today in many venues.
Original article appeared in Twin Cities HEIB Newsletter, December 2007.