Lilian Brandt (1873–1951) was an American author, historian,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and social reformer. She is noted for her involvement in social welfare-related projects, particularly her works that compiled and interpreted statistical and factual information for social workers. Brandt was also a historian of the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her recently deceased husband, rail ...

Background

Brandt was born May 15, 1873 in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. She graduated at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

, where she also completed a master's degree in economics and history in 1901. It is said that her graduate studies reoriented her focus from humanities to practical social science and reform. Her thesis called ''The Negroes of St. Louis: A Statistical Study'' was later published by the American Statistical Association. After completing her undergraduate studies, Brandt started teaching history and classical languages in different colleges. Her early work on social welfare attracted the attention of Edward T. Devine, who appointed her in 1902 as the secretary of the

Charity Organization Society The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians. In the early 1870s a handful of local societies were formed w ...

's Bureau of Labor Statistics. She was also a fellow of the

College Settlements Association The College Settlements Association (CSA) was an American organization founded during the settlement movement era which provided support and control of college settlements for women. Organized February 1890, it was incorporated on January 5, 1894. ...

, which is a group of "college women" who were interested in social settlement work. Brandt served as a mentor to fellow social reformer

Mary van Kleeck Mary Abby van Kleeck (June 26, 1883June 8, 1972) was an American social scientist of the 20th century. She was a notable figure in the American labor movement as well as a proponent of scientific management and a planned economy. An American of ...

in New York City before World War I. Brandt died June 4, 1951. She was 78 years old.

Works

The ''Negroes of St. Louis: A Statistical Study'' is considered one of Brandt's notable works due to its groundbreaking conclusions. In this study, she explored the issue of poverty among African-Americans. One of her findings revealed that Black entrepreneurs had the tendency to draw in, close off, and target people of their own race. Other related works that directly addressed poverty include ''The Causes of Poverty'' (1908), which highlighted the assumptions that explained the persistent differences in the conceptualization of poverty as well as the consequences of these differences in theoretical orientations. Brandt also worked as a statistician for the New York Charity Organization Society's Committee on the Prevention of Tuberculosis. During this period she published two pioneering studies, ''The Social Aspects of Tuberculosis'' and the ''Facts about Tuberculosis''. These publications identified the socioeconomic factors that contributed to the persistence of the disease. She also suggested that data in many of America's largest cities have underestimated the death rates from tuberculosis.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Lilian 1873 births Wellesley College alumni American women historians American social reformers American social workers Women statisticians American medical writers People from Indianapolis Activists from Indiana 1951 deaths