Catharine Beecher
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Catharine Esther Beecher (September 6, 1800 – May 12, 1878)
Catherine Beecher was the daughter of outspoken religious leader Lyman Beecher. Her numerous other well-known family members include sister Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe, the 19th century abolitionist and writer most famous for her groundbreaking novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Throughout her life Catherine Beecher was renowned for her forthright opinions on women’s education as well as her vehement support of the many benefits of the incorporation of a kindergarten into children’s education.
Beecher strongly supported allowing children to be just that and not prematurely forcing adult responsibilities onto them. She believed that children lacked the experience needed to make important life decisions and that in order for them to become healthy self-sufficient adults they needed to be allowed to express themselves freely in an environment suited to children. It was these beliefs that lead to her support of the system of Kindergartens.
In 1823 Catherine opened the Hartford Female Seminary where she taught until 1831. The private girls school in Hartford, Connecticut had many well-known alumni including Catherine’s sister Harriet. Later Catherine was engaged to marry Professor Alexander Fisher of Yale University who died before the wedding was to take place. Then in 1841 Beecher published “A Treatise on Domestic Economy for the Use of Young Ladies at Home and at School” a book which discussed the underestimated importance of women’s roles in society. The book was edited and re-released the following year in its final form. Beecher also founded The American Woman’s Educational Association in 1852, an organization focused on furthering educational opportunities for women. She also founded the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati along with her father Lyman and The Ladies Society for Promoting Education in the West..
Catherine Beecher was also instrumental in the founding of women’s colleges at Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
External links
- [PBS Schoolhouse Pioneers]
- [Neman Library: The American Beecher Family Tradition]
- [PBS:The Story of American Public Education]
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