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Benjamin Thompson
1753-1814
Benjamin Thompson, also known as Count Rumford, invented the first range with temperature controls. He was the first to label nutrition as a science and the Rumford Kithen was named after him. -
Catherine Beecher
1800-1878
Catherine Beecher wrote "A Treatise on Domestic Economy" in 1842. This was the first FACS text book that was recognized by the Department of Education. She wrote a total of 33 text books. -
Ellen S. Richards
1842-1911
Ellen Richards was a powerful leader who was a science consultant for the FCS industry. She was an MIT graduate and helped launch the new applied field. Richards began the school lunch program in 1894 and sold nutritious foods at the Chicago World's Fair in 1894. She specialized in FACS and water pollution as well as began product standards and testing. -
W.O Atwater
1844-1907
W.O Atwater is considered to be the "Father of Nutrition". He graduated from Yale with a PhD in Chemistry and went on to invent the bomb calorimeter. He also wrote bulletins on nutrition. -
Land-Grant Universities
A land grant university is an institution which congress or state legislature designates to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862. These schools research-based programs. -
Morrill Act 1862
The Morrill Act made it possible for states to create and fund public colleges on behalf of the development or sale of associated federal land grants. This created opportunities for thousands of farmers and working people. -
Martha Rensselaer
1864-1932
Martha Rensselaer was the president of AAFCS and a professor at Cornell University. She attended the Lake Placid conference in 1899. In 1900, she developed Cooperative Extension Service Programs at Cornell. -
Carolyn Hunt
1865-1927
Carolyn Hunt graduated from Northwestern with a Bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1888. She worked with Atwater and conducted two studies of immigrant and ethnic populations in Chicago, one of which was published by governmental departments. Hunt also collected dietary histories. -
Margaret Murray Washington
1865-1925
Margaret Washington was known as "one of the greatest women of her century". She was married to Booker T. Washington and was a Dean of Women at Tuskegee. Washington worked on multiple home and economics topics throughout her career and founded the Tuskegee Women's Club. -
Land Grant Universities in Arkansas
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff are both land grant universities. UA was founded in 1871 and UAPB was founded in 1873. -
Domestic Economy Curriculum
In 1873, the Kansas State Agricultural College began a domestic economy curriculum. It was the first land-grant college that provided women academic credit and became a prototype for other colleges. -
The Chemistry for Cooking and Cleaning
The Chemistry for Cooking and Cleaning was a manual for housekeepers published by Ellen Richards. She wrote this book to help improve the home lives of struggling people. -
The Rumford Kitchen
The Rumford Kitchen was an exhibit in the Department of Hygiene and Sanitation at the World's Fair in Boston, Massachusetts. Ellen S. Richards led it, helping to feed more than ten thousand people. This exhibit was solely based on science and education and welcomed visitors from all over the world. -
First School Lunch Program
The first school lunch program was started in 1894 by Ellen Richards. School lunch costed 10 cents and started in Boston. -
Headquarters for FCS
The headquarters of FCS is the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS). Their mission is to inspire research, leadership, and service to empower individuals, families, and communities. The AAFCS was founded in 1909. -
Smith-Lever Act of 1914
The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created the Cooperative Extension Service that includes FACS. It educated rural Americans about changes in agricultural practices and technology through land-grant universities. -
Smith Hughes Act of 1917
The Smith Hughes Act of 1917 established FACS as part of Vocational (CTE) Education. It provided federal aid to promote precollegiate vocational education in agriculture and industrial trades, as well as in home economics. -
Vocational Education Act 1963
The Vocational Education Act of 1963 offered new and expanded vocational education programs to bring job training for industrial and economic needs. It requires each state to plan flexible vocational education programs compatible with changes in the economy. -
Vocational Amendment 1968
The Vocational Amendments of 1968 provided funding to help states establish vocational education programs in local high schools. This redirected federal programs from training in selected categories to preparing all groups of the community. -
Vocational Amendment 1976
The Vocational Amendments of 1976 required states receiving federal funding for vocational education to create programs and activities that take away gender bias and discrimination. They also allocate federal funds to programs for homemakers, workers seeking full-time jobs, and single heads of households. -
Carl Perkins Act
The Carl Perkins Act is also known as the Vocational Education Act of 1984. This act authorizes federal funds to support vocational education programs with the goal of improving access to those who have greater educational needs.
