Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones
Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones | |
|---|---|
 Eleanor Dwight Cook, from the 1902 yearbook of Radcliffe College | |
| Born | Eleanor Dwight Cook November 14, 1880 Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Died | July 29, 1965 Riverhead, New York |
| Other names | Mrs. F. Robertson Jones |
| Occupation(s) | Suffragist, writer, activist |
| Known for | President, American Birth Control League (1928–1935) |
Eleanor Dwight Cook Robertson Jones (November 14, 1880 – July 29, 1965), known professionally as Mrs. F. Robertson Jones,[1] was an American suffragist, feminist, and writer. She was president of the American Birth Control League from 1928 to 1935.
Early life
[edit]Eleanor Dwight Cook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of William Cook and Susan Coffin Boyd Cook.[2] Her father was a professor of German at Harvard.[3] She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1902.[4][5]
Career
[edit]Cook taught English at Bryn Mawr College from 1903 to 1906, and taught at the Chapin School from 1906 to 1908. She became active in suffrage work, as a member of the Woman's Political Union of New York City;[2] she worked on publicity and outreach projects for the suffrage organization in the 1910s, including parades and outdoor speeches.[3] She was also active with the Woman's Municipal League of New York.[2][6]
After suffrage was won, Robertson Jones was active in the American Birth Control League.[7][8] She served on the league's board of directors, and was acting president while Margaret Sanger attended the 1926 World Population Conference in Geneva.[1] She spoke to community organizations, participated in public debates and national conferences,[9][10] and lobbied in the New York legislature.[11][12] She was president of the league in 1928 to 1935.[13]
Robertson Jones supported eugenic policies, including "helping the right sorts of persons to have more children"[14] and sterilization to prevent "defective lineage".[15] In her later years, she worked for the legalization of euthanasia,[16] as executive vice-president of the Euthanasia Society of America.[3][17]
Personal life
[edit]Eleanor Dwight Cook married Frederick Robertson Jones in 1905. Her husband was an economist.[18] They had two daughters, Eleanor and Katharine.[2] Her husband died in 1941, and she died in 1965, aged 84 years, at a hospital in Riverhead, Long Island.[3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Chesler, Ellen (2007-10-16). Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America. Simon and Schuster. pp. 237–238. ISBN 978-1-4165-5369-4.
- ^ a b c d Leonard, John W. (1914). Woman's Who's who of America. American Commonwealth Company. p. 439.
- ^ a b c d Wirth, Thomas; VanOmmeren Briggs, Askia; Andrews, Theodore K. "Biographical Sketch of Eleanor Dwight Robertson Jones". Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ a b "Mrs. F. Robertson Jones Dead; Birth Control Movement Leader". The New York Times. July 31, 1965. p. 21. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ Radcliffe College, Class of 1902 (1902 yearbook): 19.
- ^ "Making Winter Gardens". The Manhattan Mercury. 1915-03-24. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dowbiggin, Ian (July 2002). ""A Rational Coalition": Euthanasia, Eugenics, and Birth Control in America, 1940–1970". Journal of Policy History. 14 (3): 223–260. doi:10.1353/jph.2002.0017. ISSN 1528-4190. S2CID 153765809.
- ^ Burns, Gene (2005-04-11). The Moral Veto: Framing Contraception, Abortion, and Cultural Pluralism in the United States. Cambridge University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-139-44314-2.
- ^ "Conference on Birth Control Will be Held at Alumnae House". Vassar Miscellany News. May 5, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
- ^ "Plan Discussion of Birth Control". The News Journal. 1931-04-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "News Notes". The Birth Control Review. 11: 118. April 1927.
- ^ "Birth Control Bill Has Strong Backing". Buffalo Evening News. 1928-02-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Succeeds Mrs. Sanger; Mrs. F. Robertson Jones Becomes Head of Birth Control League". The New York Times. 1928-09-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ^ "League Asks for More Babies by People Fit for Parenthood". The Akron Beacon Journal. 1933-01-19. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ferguson, Edna (1934-01-19). "Birth Control to Rebuilt World in 10 Yrs., She Says". Daily News. p. 335. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Merciful Death' Group Opens Campaign to Get Approval on Law Books". The Dayton Herald. 1938-01-17. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Myers, Joseph; Martin, Joseph (1946-11-01). "1,500 Doctors Back Mercy Killing Move". Daily News. p. 330. Retrieved 2022-09-09 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Jones, Frederick Robertson, 1872-1941". The Online Books Page. Retrieved 2022-09-09.