Katharine Blunt
Katharine Blunt | |
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PhD ) |
Katharine Blunt (May 28, 1876 – July 29, 1954) was an American chemist, professor, and nutritionist who specialized in the fields of home economics, food chemistry and nutrition.[1] Most of her research was on nutrition, but she also made great improvements to research on calcium and phosphorus metabolism and on the basal metabolism of women and children.[2] She served as the third president of Connecticut College.
Early life and education
Katharine Blunt was born on May 28, 1876, in
Blunt attended The Porter School in Springfield, Massachusetts, then later enrolled in Vassar College, and studied chemistry. In 1898, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After four years at home, she enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1902.[3] Blunt received her Ph.D in organic chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1907.[5]
Career
Leadership
For one year Blunt was an instructor in chemistry at
Blunt was concerned that home economics would not become an established profession, so she worked to make it an appropriate subject of instruction and to plan a scientific curriculum for training professionals. In 1928, the
Connecticut College
In 1929, Blunt was named the third, and first woman to serve as president of Connecticut College for Women, a four-year liberal arts college. As president, Blunt made improvements which led to the college's accreditation in 1932.[3] In her fifteen years as president, dormitories, the student body and faculty had increased. The curriculum was transformed.[vague] Blunt acquired endowments, scholarships, and fellowships. In 1934, the Connecticut College Arboretum opened and in 1939, Palmer Auditorium was established. In 1943, she retired, aged 67, but was recalled as president in 1945 at the request of the board of trustees. Blunt served in that position for another year.[3]
Scholarship and research
From 1917–18, Blunt worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food Administration, preparing pamphlets on food conservation. The pamphlets were later published as the textbook Food and the War. While writing these pamphlets, Blunt continued to publish articles on food chemistry and nutrition in scholarly journals. The publication of Ultra-Violet Light and Vitamin D in Nutrition, a summary of research in the field, written with Ruth Cowan was published in 1930. During this time, she published writings on the education of women. Blunt believed that "the days of confining college education to the campus are over", and that women "with their belief in the force of education and their fresh political energy, can do much to serve the democracy which has helped them."[3]
Death
After Blunt retired from Connecticut College, she traveled extensively and later died of a pulmonary embolism on July 29, 1954,[where?][5] while recovering from a broken hip.[3] She was buried two days later, on July 31, 1954, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Publications
- Blunt, Katharine & Bertram, E. Mary (1936). The Losses of Calcium in Cooking Kale. Oregon: Oregon State Agricultural College[6]
- Blunt, Katharine, Katharine (1930). Ultraviolet light and vitamin D in nutrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. OCLC 701695607.
- Blunt, Katharine & Moore, C. (1923). Experimental Studies of the A Vitamin: Some Clinical and Anatomic Effects in Puppies and Rats. Portland, Oregon[7]
- Blunt, Katharine, Katharine (1918). Food and the war: a textbook for college classes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 597517316.
Awards and honors
- 1905-06 The Mary Richardson and Lydia Pratt Babbott Fellowship, 1905-06
- 1936 Doctors of Laws, Wesleyan University[8]
- 1937 Doctors of Laws, Mt. Holyoke College[8]
- 1943 Doctors of Laws, Connecticut College[8]
- 1941 Outstanding Graduate, University of Chicago[8]
- 1949 Citizenship Award, Men's club of Congregation Beth El.[8]
- 1952 Citizenship Award, Connecticut Grand lodge, Sons of Italy[8]
- 1954 member, American Chemical Society[8]
- 1954 fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science[8]
Legacy
When Blunt died, she left an apartment building at 640 Williams Street to Connecticut College. In 1946, it was announced that one of the new dormitories at Connecticut College was to be named in Blunt's honor. Katharine Blunt House (most often referred to as "KB") is located in the North Campus of dorms at the College and houses students of all genders and class years.[9]
References
- ISBN 9780674627338
- ^ a b "Select Your Library - Credo Reference". 2016-11-28.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-23748-4.
- Charles Henry Smyth, Jr. Proceedings of the Geological Society of Americafor 1937, June 1938, pp. 195–202.
- ^ a b Perry, Marilyn Elizabeth (2000). "Katharine Blunt". American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ "The Losses of Calcium in Cooking Kale" (PDF). Retrieved March 17, 2019.
- ^ "Experimental Studies of the A Vitamin: Some Clinical and Anatomic Effects in Puppies and Rats" (PDF). March 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "President Blunt: Clippings regarding various awards". encyclopedia.com. October 2, 2017.
- ^ "Katharine Blunt House". Connecticut College.