Dorothy Houston Jacobson
Dorothy Houston Jacobson | |
---|---|
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US | |
Occupation(s) | Educator, political scientist, government official |
Known for | Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the United States Department of Agriculture (1964–1969) |
Spouse |
George W. Jacobson (m. 1937) |
Dorothy Houston Jacobson (November 13, 1907 – July 13, 1985) was an American
Early life
Houston was born in Herman, Minnesota.[1] She trained as a teacher at St. Cloud State Teachers College, and earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree at the University of Minnesota.[2] She wrote her master's thesis on "China and the League of Nations" (1928).[3]
Career
Houston taught school as a young woman, and worked as a curriculum consultant for the Minnesota Department of Education.[4][5] From 1936 to 1937, she was program secretary for the National League of Women Voters.[6][7] She was a co-director of the Minneapolis League of Women Voters in 1938.[8] She and her husband were among the founders of an early cooperative health plan, Group Health Mutual.[9][10] She wrote Our Interests as Consumers (1941), a social studies text.[11] Also in 1941, she taught at the Minneapolis Labor School.[12] She was a political science professor at Macalester College from 1945 to 1955.[1][13] One of her students at Macalester was politician Walter Mondale.[14]
From 1950 to 1954, Jacobson was chair of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, which she also helped to found.[14] In 1955 she became chief assistant to governor Orville Freeman. She was Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs during the Johnson administration, from 1964 to 1969.[15] She made the dress she wore for her swearing-in ceremony, from beige and gold silk.[16] She was the highest ranking woman in the USDA,[1] and represented the United States at international meetings involving food and agriculture.[2] She also recommended a strategic reserve of agricultural products, including "food, feeds, and fibers".[16] She spoke on the demographic transition to an audience of military specialists in 1966, warning of the risk of "mass famine" and the need for international agricultural development.[17]
In the 1970s, Jacobson was executive director of Population Crisis Committee, director of the Freedom from Hunger Foundation, and director of the Greenbelt Cooperative. She retired to Richfield, Minnesota in 1982.[2]
Personal life
Dorothy Houston married George W. Jacobson, a consultant for USAID,[7] in 1937.
Death
Dorothy Houston died in Minneapolis in 1985 at the age of 77.[2]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87351-367-8.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ^ Houston, Dorothy (1928). China and the League of Nations. University of Minnesota.
- ^ "Peace and Freedom League National Meet Opens Today". St. Cloud Times. April 29, 1938. p. 5. Retrieved March 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Co-Ops' Value for Women is Told in Parley". The Minneapolis Star. June 13, 1938. p. 11. Retrieved March 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ United States Congress (April 1, 1964). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 6179.
- ^ a b Orvis, Pat (May 7, 1964). "Status of Women Report Shows Drive for Equal Rights is Entering a 'New Stage of Maturity'". The Burlington Free Press. p. 21. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New Women Voters Officers". The Minneapolis Star. May 7, 1938. p. 9. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-1-4529-5679-4.
- ^ "Co-op Pioneer G.W. Jacobson Dies". Star Tribune. July 9, 1988. p. 30. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jacobson, Dorothy Houston (1941). Our interests as consumers. The American way. New York, London: Harper & Brothers.
- ^ "Labor School Announces Classes to Open Tuesday". The Minneapolis Star. September 28, 1941. p. 25. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Macalester Names Four to Staff". Star Tribune. August 15, 1945. p. 11. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Zack, Margaret (July 14, 1985). "Dorothy Houston Jacobson, 77, one of DFL Party founders, dies". Star Tribune. p. 34. Retrieved March 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tufty, Ester Van Wagoner (April 8, 1964). "Michigan in Washington". The Holland Evening Sentinel. p. 23. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Glaser, Vera (December 4, 1964). "Woman Farming Expert Seeks to Balance Need, Plenty". Asbury Park Press. p. 26. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sunderland, Lowell E. (August 10, 1966). "Mass Famine Seen". The Baltimore Sun. p. 13. Retrieved March 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.