1. Justus von Liebig, Ellen Swallow Richards, and the Development of Home Economics in the United States of America
Janis H. White, Ph.D., CFCS Rick C. White, Ph.D. Sam Houston State University

2. Introduction
Importance of STEM in today’s Family and Consumer Sciences
Importance of STEM in the origins of the discipline
Influences of science origins, particularly in Ellen Swallow Richards’ time
Ellen Swallow Richards
Justus von Liebig
Robert Bunsen

3. Work of Justus von Liebig in the Mid-19th Century
Emphases of his work:
Sanitation
Water quality
Food science
Focus on how society could benefit through chemistry
Concept of education through teaching in laboratories
Continuation to today:
Nutrition
Consumer products
Textile science

4. How Chemists Track Influence, through “Lineage”
AcademicTree for Chemistry
Tracks advisors and students
Can also be used to track attitudes and values
Justus Von Liebig ( ) and Robert Bunsen ( )
James Mason Crafts – the link across the Atlantic
Worked under Bunsen at University of Heidelberg
Began teaching organic chemistry at MIT in 1870
One of his students: a young woman, Ellen Swallow
Eventually became 4th president of MIT
MIT in the 19th Century

5. AcademicTree for Chemistry Modified to Show Relationships Pertinent to FCS

6. Parallels in the Work of Liebig, Ellen Swallow Richards
“Benefit of society”
Liebig biographer William Brock (1997): “Liebig moved chemistry into the market place, into a sociopolitical context, by arguing and demonstrating its significance for the benefit of society in food production, nutrition, and public health.”
“Subject the material world”
In the words of a slightly later chemist, Ellen Swallow Richards: “Subject the material world to the higher ends by understanding it in all its relation to daily life and action.”

7. Importance of Water Sanitation (Liebig)
Concern about important bodies of water contaminated with sewage expressed by the early 1800’s in Europe, particularly London where the Thames River had evolved into a giant sewer.
One of the leading chemists in Europe, Liebig became involved in possible solutions to this problem in the 1850’s.

8. Importance of Water Sanitation (Ellen Richards)
During her time as an undergraduate at MIT (1870’s), Ellen Richards worked under William Ripley Nichols to do an extensive analysis of water pollution in the Boston area.
By 1880, the death rate in Boston from water-born illness had declined.
She continued her work in water analysis, becoming internationally known as an expert and testing water samples all over the world, and for the rest of her active career.

9. Food Science and Nutrition
Liebig has been called the “father of modern food science.”
Groundbreaking book Organic Chemistry and its Application to Agriculture and Physiology considered a forerunner to food science studies (translated into English in 1840)
A second book, Research on the Chemistry of Food (translated into English in 1847)
Proposed importance of nitrogen in the soil to grow plants for food
Promoted use of baking powder to make lighter bread
Developed a breast milk substitute for infants with mothers
not capable of breastfeeding

10. Food Science and Nutrition
Ellen Richards brought food science and nutrition to a very practical level in homes and to children.
Response to educating others on the importance of nutritional practices: Open a community kitchen, aka New England Kitchen
Nourishment the major factor
Cost also an important consideration
Sanitation in food preparation modeled through the project
Rumford Kitchen at the 1893 Chicago’s World’s Fair
Mrs. Richards’ teachings reached an international audience
Boston school lunch program first to provide hot lunches for school children

11. Justus von Liebig’s Academic Descendants
In the area of Food and Nutrition:
Through August Kekulé ( ) and Adolf von Bäyer ( ): Emil Fischer ( ; structure of sugars)
Through August von Hofmann ( ), Ferdinand Tiemann ( ), and Julius Stieglitz ( ): Agnes Fay Morgan ( ; Head, Department of Household Science, Berkeley; pantothenic acid and Vitamin D)
Through August Kekulé, Adolf von Bäyer, and Richard Willstätter ( ): Richard Kuhn ( ; colors and nutrients associated with many vegetables)

12. Liebig Descendants, cont’d
In the area of Textile Dyes:
Through August von Hofmann ( ): William Henry Perkin ( ); mauve, first synthetic dye)
Through August Kekulé ( ): Adolf von Bäyer ( ; indigo dye)
In the area of Textile Polymers:
Through Heinrich Will ( ), Jacob Volhardt ( ), Johannes Thiele ( ): Hermann Staudinger ( ; polymers that serve as the basis for synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon)
Through August Kekulé, Adolf von Bäyer, Richard Willstätter ( ), and Roger Adams ( ): Wallace Carothers ( ; nylon 6,6)

13. Women in Higher Education in Science: Comparison of Europe and the United States
1754 – Dorothea Erxleben M.D. – Halle
1787 – Dorothea Schlözer Ph.D. – Göttingen
1874 – Julia Lermontova Ph.D. – Göttingen; accepted research positions at Universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg
1887 – Rachel Holloway Lloyd Ph.D. - Zurich
1900 – Clara Immerwahr Ph.D. – Breslau
1900 – Marie Curie accepted teaching post at École Normale Supérieure
1903 – Marie Curie Ph.D. – Sorbonne, Paris
United States
1873 – Ellen Richards S.B. – MIT
1889 – Rachel Holloway Lloyd; accepted teaching post at U Neb.
1915 – Agnes F. Morgan Ph.D. – U Chicago; accepted teaching post at Cal. Berkeley
1918 – Ruth Okey Ph.D. – U Illinois; accepted teaching post at Cal. Berkeley

14. Back to Ellen Swallow Richards:
As we all do, she built on the ideas of those who went before her, enhanced concepts with ideas of her own, and took them to new and practical levels.
She believed in the intelligence and ability of women, and was able to get others to contribute to her efforts:
Women’s Laboratory at MIT
She served as an OUTSTANDING role model and mentor for women in the sciences, then and today!

15. References:
Brock, W. H. (1997). Justus von Liebig: The chemical gatekeeper. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Goldblith, S. A. (1995). Of microbes and molecules: Food technology, nutrition and applied technology at M.I.T., Trumbull, Connecticut: Food & Nutrition Press, Inc.
Swallow, P. C. (2014). The remarkable life and career of Ellen Swallow Richards: Pioneer in science and technology, New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
White, J. H., Browning-Keen, V., & White, R. C. (2014). Exploring pioneer women in chemistry: Discoveries amid conflicts in a study abroad course. The Chemical Educator, 19,

16. Thank you! Questions?