Description

A timeline with photographs and information about the work of Ellen Swallow Richards, created for the 1973 Centennial of Women Graduates. The text of the timeline reads as follows:

Original caption 1 on recto: "1876 - 1883: Established and operated the Women's Laboratory. She took no salary for her work in connection with the job and, in fact, provided a $1000/ year contribution to insure its continued operation. How much all this meant to Mrs. Richards, and how eagerly she followed each step, we learn from her personal letters. One dated February 13, 1876 shows the project just began, 'Now I need only two thousand dollars to have a special room fitted up for ten or twelve women.' she wrote. 'I am making a strong effort to interest people in it, and hope to see it accomplished before I leave for Europe in June.' On May 11, sucess was assured. The government of the Institute had only the day before passed a vote 'that hereafter special students in Chemistry shall be admitted without regard to sex.' It had authorized a space to be fitted up for women, to be ready for use in October. Under the date of June 1, there is a happy letter reading: 'We sail for Europe June 1, Miss Capen and I expect to spend lots of money in Jena for instruments. I am to purchase for the Women's Laboratory, which is a sure thing now. All has prospered beyond my expectations.' The new laboratory was opened in November, and was placed in charge of Professor John M. Ordway, of the Intitute of Technology, with Mrs. Richars as assistant. In April, 1877, Mrs. Richards reported to the Association the success of the work, saying that twenty-three students, most of whom were teachers had been admitted.", Original caption 2 on recto: "1876: Took over the Science Department of the Society to Encourage Studies At Home. Taught geology, mineralogy, and physical geography, and supervised botany and mathematics. The Society was a precursor of the present University Without Walls. 1877: Developed a new accurage method for assaying nickel ores. 1878-1879: Food adulteration analysis for Massachusetts State Board of Health. 1884: Appointed Instructor in Sanitary Chemistry at M.I.T. Chemist for Manufacturer's Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Did valuable pioneering work bearing upon the danger from spontaneous combustion of various oils in commerical use. This was the fore'runner of the present underwriters' laboratories' work. 1886 - 1897: In charge of the Sanitary Chemitry Laboratory at M.I.T. Formulated the Normal Chlorine Map, the standard used whenever sanitary surveys are made. 1890: Established the New England Kitchen of Boston. This later resulted in the School Hot Lunch Program in 1894 and the Rumford Kitchen in the Chicago World Fair, where the caloric and nutritional value of food was computed and popularized. This was the first time that the information was made available to the public in a form that they could understand. 1898: Charter member of the Naples Table Association for promoting laboratory research by women. 1899: Organized the first Lake Placid Conference on Home Economics, where the entire field of Home Economics was defined and named. 100 M.I.T. 1873-1973 Centennial of Women Graduates".