(1878-1972) IMMORTALIZED IN FILM AND LITERATURE, THIS MOTHER OF TWELVE IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE FIRST LADY OF ENGINEERING AND ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN TO REALLY 'HAVE IT ALL'.
When Lillian Moller Gilbreth received her PhD in psychology from Brown University, she had four children in tow. By then she and Frank Gilbreth, her husband and business partner were well on their way to making a name for themselves in the field of worker productivity, with a science they called motion study.
Efficiency was frank’s interest, but his enthusiasm was contagious. Lillian had a masters degree in literature. She switched her studies to psychology to help frank in his work. The Gilbreths consulted with companies to improve worker productivity. It was the human factor that interested Lillian most. A pioneer in ergonomics, she developed techniques to improve worker safety. She was also one of the first scientists to recognize the effects of stress and lack of sleep on workers.
The Gilbreths lived their work. Movie cameras that captured the motions of factory workers also recorded the actions of the Gilbreth children. Mom and dad studied the films, then put their efficiency techniques to work at home. Charts recorded tooth brushing and chores, and everything from household tasks to birthday celebrations, was run by committee. Their unusual upbringing led two of the Gilbreth children to write popular books, 'Cheaper by the Dozen', and 'Bells on Their Toes', later turned into Hollywood films.
When frank died in 1924, Lillian ran the family, and the family business with her trademark efficiency. She did motion studies on thousands of women to improve kitchen design, and patented the electric food mixer, refrigerator shelves and foot pedals for trash-cans. The first woman member of the American society of mechanical engineers, Lillian Gilbert is known as the “mother of modern management”. Her gift for combining family, work, and innovation led one magazine to call her “a genius in the art of living.”
Credits: Image is courtesy of Rutgers University.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.sdsc.edu/ScienceWomen/gilbreth.html
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gilbreth2.html
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