Katherine Fredrica Lenroot (March 8, 1891 – February 10, 1982), an American feminist and child welfare advocate, was the third Chief of the

United States Children's Bureau The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, ...

Biography

Katharine F. Lenroot was born in

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

on March 8, 1891, to lawyer and Senator

Irvine Lenroot Irvine Luther Lenroot (January 31, 1869 – January 26, 1949) was a United States representative and United States senator from Wisconsin and an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. Education and career ...

and his wife, memoirist Clara Clough. Lenroot grew up in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

while her father served there. She attended Superior State Normal School finishing in 1909. Instead of going straight into college Lenroot joined her father in Washington D.C. Her experience there led her to study economics and sociology in the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. Lenroot completed her bachelor's degree in 1912 and began work in the civil service as deputy of the Industrial Commission of Wisconsin in 1913. There she was hired to assist Emma Octavia Lundberg. The two joined the

in 1914. They wrote several works together and worked in conjunction with each other especially with regard to children and illegitimacy. Lenroot remained in the bureau; when

Grace Abbott Grace Abbott (November 17, 1878 – June 19, 1939) was an American social worker who specifically worked in improving the rights of immigrants and advancing child welfare, especially the regulation of child labor. Her elder sister, Edith Abbott ...

retired in 1934 Lenroot became the third Chief of the Bureau. She remained in the role until 1951. In July 1946 the department moved from the Department of Labor to the Federal Security Agency. Lenroot was president of the Pan-American Child Congress, in 1942, and represented the US on the board of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

from 1947 to 1951. Lenroot retired in 1951 and was awarded the Federal Security Agency Distinguished Civilian Service Award. During her career she had been awarded the Rosenberg Medal from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1942, the National Institute of Social Sciences Gold Medal in 1947 and the Survey Award in 1950. She also received honorary doctorates from University of Wisconsin,

Russell Sage College Russell Sage College (often Russell Sage or RSC) is a co-educational college with two campuses located in Albany and Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. Russell Sage College offers both undergraduate ...

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. Lenroot moved to

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Greenb ...

on retirement and lived with Emma Lundberg, until 1954 when Lundberg died. She moved to

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

in 1960 and worked with the New Jersey State Board of Child Welfare as well as working with the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

's School of Social Work. She was a consultant for UNICEF from 1962 to 1963. She died in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

on February 10, 1982.

Bibliography

*''Child Welfare Problem'' (1920, 1922) *''Juvenile Courts at Work'' (1925)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenroot, Katherine F. 1891 births 1982 deaths People from Superior, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni