Beulah Blackmore | |
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![]() Beulah Blackmore, from the 1927 yearbook of Cornell University | |
Born | April 6, 1886 Vassar, Michigan, United States |
Died | July 29, 1967 Ithaca, New York, United States | (aged 81)
Occupation(s) | Home economist, college professor |
Beulah Blackmore (April 6, 1886 – July 29, 1967) was an American home economist on the faculty of Cornell University from 1915 to 1951, and head of the New York State College of Human Ecology at Cornell University's Textiles and Clothing department from 1925 to 1951.
Blackmore was born in Vassar, Michigan, the daughter of Oliver Blackmore and Anna Blackmore. Her brother, John James Blackmore, was a professional musician.[1][2] She attended high school in Tuscola County,[3] and graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1917.[4] Later she completed graduate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[5]
Blackmore taught in the home economics department at Cornell University beginning in 1915,[6][7] including such courses as "Elements of Design", "Clothing and Handwork", and "Elementary Millinery". She became a full professor in 1923, and served as head of the textiles and clothing program from 1925 until her retirement in 1951.[8] She oversaw the creation of the school's costume shop, home economics courses for male students, a collection of historical textiles and international garments,[9][10] and a diverse research program on clothing and fabric. She also donated her own collection of rare objects and books on these subjects to the college.[11]
Blackmore taught community classes,[12][13] and gave interviews and lectures on consumer advice.[14][15][16]
Blackmore wrote textbook chapters and technical reports;[17][18] she also wrote articles on home economics topics for The Delineator magazine in the 1920s.[19][20][21][22]
Blackmore lived with fellow home economist Helen Canon in Ithaca, New York for more than thirty years.[26][27] Canon died in 1954.[28][29] Blackmore died at home in 1967, at the age of 81.[30]