Father Edward J. Flanagan (1886 – 1948): Catholic Priest and Founder of Boys Town, Omaha, NE His Youth: Edward Flanagan was born in County Roscommon, Ireland on July 13, 1886. He was the eighth child in a family of eleven children; and he was frail from birth. In a biography published by the “Father…
Continue Reading »Ruth E. Fizdale (1908- 1994) – Social Worker, Administrator and Counselor by Helen Rehr As administrator of the Arthur Lehman Counseling Services in New York City, Ruth Fizdale developed a new kind of social agency—a not-for-profit, fee-for-service agency for a private clientele. That program lifted the aura of charity from social work services. Fizdale…
Continue Reading »Amelia Earhart (1897-1937): Social Worker, Women’s Advocate, World Famous American Aviation Pioneer By Dr. Julie Miller-Cribbs and Julianne N. Mains, University of Oklahoma Tulsa Campus Introduction: In the early 1900s, increasingly more women were obtaining their college degrees. Despite this increase, career choices for these newly educated women were quite limited. Most of these…
Continue Reading »Miss Dunn played a key role in bringing together social welfare leaders from all over the country to help study and draft legislation establishing many federally funded social work welfare programs. She influenced many, and during her long career she maintained close associations with such public figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Nelson Rockefeller.
Continue Reading »Arthur Dunham (1893-1980) – Community Organizer, Social Welfare Administrator, Pacifist and Federal Prisoner During WW I Introduction: Arthur Dunham (1893-1980) was a social welfare administrator, pioneer community organizer, and educator. He worked in a number of neighborhood centers and social work agencies in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Newton, MA; served on the staff of…
Continue Reading »Miss Dorothea Dix (1802 – 1887): Teacher, Nurse, Social Reformer and Advocate for the Mentally Ill by Dr. Graham Warder, Keene State College Dorothea Dix was born on April 4, 1802 in the frontier town of Hampden, Maine. Her father was poor, a drifter, and probably an alcoholic. He was also a Methodist minister and…
Continue Reading »Karl de Schweinitz (1887-1975) — Social Welfare Administrator, Educator and Historian Editor’s Note: At the end of the biography are two documents that enhance the career and significance of Karl de Schweinitz’s contribution to social work and social welfare. The first is a list of presentations and selected publications. Next is a document titled: Biographical…
Continue Reading »Dorothy Day (November 8, 1897 – November 29, 1980) — Journalist, Social Activist, Pacifist By Harris Chaiklin, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland School of Social Work Dorothy Day’s early life gave little indication of what lay ahead. She was bright, bookish, worked hard, and aspired to be a writer. Religion did not play…
Continue Reading »Grace Coyle (1892-1962) — Settlement Worker, Teacher, Leader in Developing Scientific Approach to Social Group Work Introduction: Grace Coyle received her bachelor’s degree in 1914 from Wells Lake College, a certificate from the New York School of Philanthropy in 1915, and she earned a master’s degree in economics in 1928 and a doctoral degree…
Continue Reading »Jacob S. Coxey (1854 – 1951) — Businessman, Politician, Advocate for the Unemployed and Organizer of Coxey’s Army March to Washington, D.C. Beginning Easter Sunday, March 25, 1894 Jacob Sechler Coxey was born on April 16, 1854, in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He received his education in the Danville, Pennsylvania, public schools, before dropping out…
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