Ellen swallow Richards : Mother of human ecology?

Abstract

The first person to use the term “human ecology,” in 1892, was the remarkable Ellen Swallow (later Richards). She was born into the small, isolated rural community of Dunstable, Massachusetts, in 1842 and raised on the family farm. Both Ellen’s parents were well educated for the times, and both had been teachers. They resolved that Ellen would be better educated at home by them than at the local school, and so as a child she received no formal education. Ellen was bright and learned readily, but she was also considered frail and sickly. On her doctor’s orders, she was instructed to spend as much time as possible outside, in the belief that fresh air and exercise would be good for her. As was considered natural at the time, she also helped around the house, with duties such as cooking, cleaning, and needlework. Prizes won at the local country fair suggest that she was skilled at these arts too. These formative experiences of the curative power of a healthy environment and the importance of household arts are pointed to as the basis of her lifelong interest in the influence of the environment on the health and well-being of humans (Hunt, 1912, p. 77).