Ellen H. Richards

Ellen H. Richards
Ellen H. Richards (1842–1911) was an influential American chemist, environmental scientist, and educator. She was a pioneer in home economics and the application of science to everyday life, particularly in sanitation, nutrition, and public health. Richards authored several books, including "The Chemistry of Cooking and Cleaning" and "Air, Water, and Food," which emphasized the importance of scientific knowledge in household management. She also played a key role in establishing the first water-quality standards in the U.S. and advocated for environmental sustainability through her research on pollution and water purity.

Author's Books:


FOREWORD Never has society been so clear as to its several special ends, never has so little effort been due to chance or compulsion. Ralph Barton Perry, The Moral Economy. Not through chance, but through increase of scientific knowledge; not through compulsion, but through democratic idealism consciously working through common interests, will be brought about the creation of right conditions, the... more...

CHAPTER I. THE HOUSE AND WHAT IT SIGNIFIES IN FAMILY LIFE; TYPIFIED IN PIONEER AND COLONIAL HOMES, THE CENTERS OF INDUSTRY AND HOSPITALITY. "There is no noble life without a noble aim."—CHARLES DOLE. The word Home to the Anglo-Saxon race calls to mind some definite house as the family abiding-place. Around it cluster the memories of childhood, the aspirations of youth, the sorrows of middle... more...