Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Lillian Moller Gilbreth has come to be known as "the Mother of Modern management." She was born in 1878 in Oakland, California and received her B.A. in literature from the Unviersity of California. Her marriage to Frank Gilbreth who was interested in efficiency in the work place produced twelve children who were the subjects of the famous book and movie "Cheaper by the Dozen." Together with her husband, Lillian Moller Gilbreth developed ideas such as job standardization, incentive wage-plans, and motion studies in the work place. She was among the first to recognize the impact of worker fatigue and stress work efficiency. A prolific inventor, Lillian Moller Gilbreth's inventions include the step-on trash can, the improved electric can opener, the egg keeper and butter tray in refrigerators and the waste water hose in washing machines.
Lillian and Frank Gilbreth with eleven of their twelve children
A woman with considerable energy and talents, Lillian Moller Gilbreth managed to have twelve children, obtain her doctorate in psychology as well as pioneer the whole new field of management. She was the first woman to become a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and in 1935 became the first woman professor in the engineering school at Purdue. In 1966, she won the Hoover Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lillian Moller Gilbreth died in 1972 at the age of 92. She was the recipient of more than a dozen honorary degrees and countless accolades.
Vesta Roman Goddess of the Hearth
References:
Patently Female by Ethlie Vare and Greg Ptacel (John Wiley, 2002) pp. 54-55Critical Biography Without Subjects and Objects: An Encounter with Dr. Lillian Moller Gilbreth by Laurel D. Graham, The Sociological Quarterly 35:621-643 1994.
Management's Unsung Theorist: An Examination of the Works of Lillian M. Gilbreth,by Sherry Sullivan, Biography 18: 31-41 1995.
Lillian Moller Gilbreth by Edna Yost in American Women in Science (Frederick A. Stokes 1943).
Web Sites
Lillian Moller GilbrethMother of Management
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Lillian Moller Gilbreth: Industrial Engineer
Inventions
