Lillian Gilbreth

Genius in the art of living

Source: https://loc.getarchive.net/media/womens-policy-committee-of-the-war-manpower-commission-first-meeting-of-the

Lillian Gilbreth was born in 1878, the second child to what would later be a family of eleven, with her eight siblings. She was homeschooled until the age of nine, and then transferred to a public school in first grade. Successful in all grades, she became vice president of her senior class in 1896. Even though her father did not want her to go to college, she wished to go and was accepted to the University of California.

After persuading her dad to let her try out college for a year, she commuted to the campus in a streetcar while still living at home. After a year, she had come in almost at the top of her class, and her dad had let her continue her education. There, she majored in English while studying philosophy and psychology. She also acted in student plays and even won a prize in poetry. In her senior year, she was asked to be a student speaker, and became the first woman to speak at a University of California commencement in 1900.

In 1902, she received her masters degree in literature at the University of California. In 1904, she married Frank Gilbreth, and over the course of 17 years she would have 12 children with him. One of her children, Frank Jr., wrote the book Cheaper by the Dozen based upon his life living with his eleven siblings and his parents. Frank Sr. had died at 56, and Lillian became a single mother to twelve children, needing to support them.

In her career, she was extremely successful at many things. She became a pioneer of management theory and worked as an industrial engineer. In her career, she also wrote several books, on topics ranging from psychology to applied motion. She became the recipient of 23 honorary degrees from schools ranging from Princeton University to the University of Michigan.

Over the course of her life, she also volunteered for nonprofit groups and presided over the Women's Branch of the Engineers' Hoover for President campaign. She joined the board of directors for Girl Scouts and was friends with Herbert Hoover and his wife from being in the University of California. Today, her legacy is remembered through her profound contributions to technology.