America's Mother Of Ecology: The Little Known Accomplishments Of Ellen Swallow Richards

"As theology is the science of religious life and biology the science of life...so let Oekology be henceforth the science of normal lives." Thus, in 1892, the discipline of ecology was introduced to the American science community. The person who expanded upon the term coined by Ernst Haekel of Germany was Ellen Swallows Richards, one of America's foremost scientists and consumer advocates. She is the intellectual predecessor of figures like Rachel Carson, but her remarkable story is little known. "Richards was first and foremost a scientist who was unafraid to wade into the messiness of social reform and policy-making. Unlike so many of her peers, she did not draw a line between the built environment that human beings lived in, and the natural environment she so loved."

Richard's idea of ecology was commandeered away from her by male colleagues, and we are now circling back to her original conception of the term. "Richards’ vision was more human-centric. Tracing the word back to its Greek roots (oikos means house), Richards did not distinguish between the house and the landscape on which it was built: Both have a profound effect on us...To Richards, the view that ecology didn’t include humans was a dangerous fallacy that imperiled both our health and that of our environment." From this foundation, she championed health and safety standards and environmental safety. 

This article chronicles some of her incredible life as MIT's first female student, a strong chemist, astronomer, geologist, and of course, ecologist. It describes her fierce devotion to her work and those around her, and the home she built for herself, a real-life example of her values. She cared a great deal about bringing chemistry into the home to create healthier environments for people. But of course, Richards faced many challenges being a woman in a male-dominated society, yet made great strides nonetheless, fighting for things changes in policies that would affect thousands, if not more.