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Benjamin Thompson, count von Rumford
His investigations of heat overturned the theory that heat is a liquid form of matter and established the beginnings of the modern theory that heat is a form of motion. He invented the first range that had temperature controls. -
Ellen S. Richards
A major contributor to the Family and Consumer Science field of study. The first woman in America to enter a scientific school. -
Land Grant University
An institution of higher education in the United States designed by the state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The Land-grant universities in Arkansas are the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. -
Morrill Act of 1862
The Morrill Act made it possible for western states to establish colleges for their citizens. This opened opportunities to thousands of famers and working people that were previously excluded from higher education. -
Catherine Beecher
Catharine Esther Beecher was a nineteenth century teacher and writer who promoted equal access to education for women and advocated for their roles as teachers and mothers. She wrote the first FACS textbook recognized by the Department of Education -
Home Economics Creation
In 1899, with the establishment of the Lake Placid Conferences, the term “home economics” was decided upon and activists began to call for the teaching of home economics in schools across the country. ... Funding was only to be provided for home economics education that lead to gainful employment. -
Wilbur Olin Atwater
Atwater was an American chemist known for his studies of human nutrition and metabolism, and is considered the father of modern nutrition research and education. He is credited with developing the Atwater system, which laid the groundwork for nutrition science in the United States and inspired modern Olympic nutrition. -
Smith Lever Act of 1914
The 1914 Smith Lever Act Extension created a Cooperative Extension Service associated with each land-grant institution. This partnership between agricultural colleges and USDA enables the dissemination of information produced by the experiment stations’ research. -
Smith Hughes Act
Smith-Hughes Act, formally National Vocational Education Act, U.S. legislation, adopted in 1917, that provided federal aid to the states for the purpose of promoting precollegiate vocational education in agricultural and industrial trades and in home economics. -
Founding of American Dietetics Association
The ADA was founded in 1917 by 58 people who saw the need for persons educated in the science of nutrition and trained in the art of feeding people. The first ADA president was Lulu C. Graves -
Carolyn Hunt
Contributed to the founding of FACS. She received her Bachelors in chemistry from Northwestern in 1888. She conducted two studies of immigrant and ethnic populations in Chicago, and she collected dietary histories and social/economic information. -
Martha Van Rensselaer
Professor at Cornell University. Offered full-time home economics courses. Organized an extension program for New York State's rural women. She was also the president of AAFCS -
Charles Ford Langworthy
Co-Editor of the Journal of Home Economics, conducted metabolic tests, studied chemical composition of food, he also wrote nutrition bulletins for his experimental stations. -
Vocational Education Acts
The Vocational Education Act of 1963 provided grants to states to maintain, improve, and develop vocational-technical education programs. The funds were earmarked for occupations in demand. -
Vocational Amendment of 1968
The Vocational Amendments in 1968 addressed the nation's social and economic problems and continued funding for students who were at risk or with disabilities. -
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended (Rehab Act) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment and in the employment practices of federal contractors. -
Introduction of Regulated nutrition labels
In 1973, the FDA published the first regulations that required the nutrition labeling of certain foods. These included foods with added nutrients and those for which a nutrition claim was made on the label or in advertising. -
Vocational Amendment of 1976
The 1976 Amendments to the Vocational Equity Act of 1963, required states receiving federal funding for vocational education to develop and carry out activities and programs to eliminate gender bias, stereotyping, and discrimination in vocational education. -
Carl Perkins Act
The Carl Perkins Act aims to increase the quality of technical education within the United States in order to help the economy. -
Home Economics Name Change
Starting in 1994, home economics courses in the United States began being referred to as "family and consumer science" in order to make the class appear more inclusive.
