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Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford)
Benjamin Thompson (1753-1814), a scientist and inventor, was the first to label nutrition a science. His research in nutrition included studying ways to mass feed the poor and soldiers in the army, developing a theory of the nutritional value of water, concocting recipes for nutritious meals, and refining the effectiveness of cooking equipment, which led among other things, to the first range with temperature controls. -
Catherine Beecher
Catherine Beecher (1800-1878), a teacher and writer who campaigned for higher education for women, wrote "A Treatise on Domestic Economy" in 1841. It was the first Family and Consumer Science textbook recognized by the Department of Education. -
Morrill Act of 1862
Named after Justin Morrill, the Vermont Congressman who backed the bill, the Morrill Act of 1862 gave land to the states to go towards funding public colleges that focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts. Sixty-nine colleges were funded by these land grants, including Cornell University, which was one of the first colleges to start a Home Economics department. -
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Land Grant Universities in Arkansas
The passing of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 led to the opening of two land grant universities in Arkansas, which were named University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. -
W.O. Atwater
W.O. Atwater (1844-1907) is considered the Father of Nutrition. He earned his Phd in chemistry at Yale University and went on to develop the Bomb Calorimeter (1892), which is used to measure human metabolism rates. He conducted studies on food analysis, dietary evaluations, energy requirements for work, digestibility of foods, and economics of food production. He convinced the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives to start a nutrition research program in 1894. -
The Rumford Kitchen 1894 Chicago World's Fair
Named after Count Rumford and organized by Ellen Richards, the kitchen was used to demonstrate the making of scientifically prepared meals, which were then displayed with their nutrient information and cost. The exhibit helped to draw attention to the effectiveness of applying science to everyday life. -
Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Swallow Richards' (1842-1911) belief that science should be used for improving the health and well being of people was instrumental in starting home economics as a field of study. She was the first woman to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was part of its chemistry faculty, scientifically prepared foods for the 1894 Chicago World's Fair, was involved in getting legislation and policies passed for FACS, and organized the first Lake Placid Conference in 1899. -
The Beginning of Home Economics: Lake Placid Conference
In 1899, eleven scientifically educated individuals including Ellen Richards, Martha Renssaeler, and Carolyn Hunt gathered in New York for the first Lake Placid Conference and decided to start a new field of study called "Home Economics." -
Martha Van Renssaeler
Martha Van Renssaeler (1864-1932), who believed applying scientific methods to homemaking was the best way to reduce women's workload and increase efficiency, developed Cooperative Extension Service Programs for home economics at Cornell University in 1900. She was also the president of the American Home Economics Association from 1914 to 1916 and attended the first Lake Placid Conference in which the home economics field was first developed. -
C.F. Langworthy
Dr. C.F. Langworthy (1864-1932) was the co-editor of the Journal of Home Economics during the early 1900s. He also studied metabolism and the chemical composition of food and wrote nutrition bulletins describing his experiments. -
Carolyn Hunt
Carolyn Hunt (1865-1927), a chemist and colleague of W.O. Atwater, was appointed as the first Home Economics professor at the University of Wisconsin in 1903. Hunt sought to emphasize the sciences in home economics. She conducted important studies on immigrants and ethnic population health and diet that were published by government departments, kept records of dietary histories and social and economic information, and attended several of the Lake Placid Conferences. -
Smith Lever Act of 1914
The Smith Lever Act established a system of cooperative extension services connected to the land-grant universities, in order to inform the public about current developments in agriculture, family and consumer science, public policy/government, leadership, 4-H, economic development, coastal issues (National Sea Grant College Program), and many other related subjects. -
The Beginning of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics was founded in 1917 in Cleveland, Ohio with the original goal to help the government preserve food and to improve the public's health and nutrition during World War I. Lulu C. Graves was its first president from 1917-1920. Today it is the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. -
Smith Hughes Act of 1917
The Smith-Hughes Act, which was an expansion of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, established Family and Consumer Science as part of Vocational (CTE) Education program. -
Vocation Education Act of 1963
The Vocational Education Act of 1963 expanded the Smith-Lever and Smith-Hugh Acts by adding support for vocational education schools for work-study programs and research. -
Vocation Amendment of 1968
The Vocational Education Amendments of 1968 modified the original 1963 Act and developed the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education. It also provided funding for home economics education. -
Educations Amendments of 1974
The Education Amendments of 1974 was the turning point for family and consumer sciences education. It included The Women’s Educational Equality Act of 1974, and supported career education. -
Vocation Amendment of 1976
The Vocation Amendment of 1976 was a revision and expansion of the Vocation Education Act of 1963 and continued providing support for the study of home economics. -
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act sought to "improve the effectiveness of consumer and homemaking education and reduce the limiting effects of sex-role stereotyping on occupations, job skills, levels of competency, and careers” (Scott & Sarkees-Wircenski, 2008). -
New Name: Family and Consumer Sciences
On June, 1994, the American Home Economics Association voted to change the profession name to Family and Consumer Science as well as change the organization's name to American Association of Family and Consumer Science (AAFACS). The University of Central Arkansas was one of first universities to adopt the new name.
