Esther Peterson: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5) (CyanoTex - 15876
(46 intermediate revisions by 32 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|American consumer rights activist (1906–1997)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Esther Peterson
| name = Esther Peterson
| image = Esther Peterson 1962.jpg
| image = Esther Peterson (1962).jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = Peterson in 1962
| caption = Peterson in 1962
Line 9: Line 10:
| president = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| president = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| predecessor = [[Virginia Knauer]]
| predecessor = [[Virginia Knauer]]
| successor = [[Virginia Knauer]]
| successor = Virginia Knauer
| office2 = 1st [[Federal Trade Commission#Bureau of Consumer Protection|Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs]]
| office2 = 1st [[Federal Trade Commission#Bureau of Consumer Protection|Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs]]
| term_start2 = January 3, 1964
| term_start2 = January 3, 1964
| term_end2 = May 1, 1967
| term_end2 = May 1, 1967
| president2 = [[Lyndon Johnson]]
| president2 = [[Lyndon Johnson]]
| predecessor2 = Position created
| predecessor2 = ''Office established''
| office3 = Executive Vice Chairperson of the [[Presidential Commission on the Status of Women]]
| successor2 = [[Betty Furness]]
| term_start3 = January 20, 1961
| term_end3 = November 22, 1963
| president3 = [[John F. Kennedy]]
| predecessor3 = ''Office established''
| office4 = 4th Director of the [[United States Women's Bureau]]
| term_start4 = January 20, 1961
| term_end4 = January 3, 1964
| president4 = John F. Kennedy<br>Lyndon Johnson
| predecessor4 = Alice K. Leopold
| successor4 = Mary Dublin Keyserling
| birth_name = Esther Eggertsen
| birth_name = Esther Eggertsen
| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|12|9}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1906|12|9}}
| birth_place = [[Provo, Utah]]
| birth_place = [[Provo, Utah]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|12|20|1906|12|9}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|12|20|1906|12|9}}
| death_place =
| death_place = Washington
| spouse = Oliver Peterson married 1932
| spouse = {{marriage|Oliver Peterson|1932}}
| religion = [[Mormons|Mormon]]
| children = 4
| alma_mater = [[Brigham Young University]]
| alma_mater = [[Brigham Young University]] <small>(1927)</small><br>[[Teachers College, Columbia University]] <small>(1930)</small>
| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Esther Eggertsen Peterson''' (December 9, 1906 &ndash; December 20, 1997) was a lifelong [[Consumer protection|consumer]] and [[Feminism|women's]] advocate.
'''Esther Eggertsen Peterson''' (December 9, 1906 &ndash; December 20, 1997) was an American [[Consumer protection|consumer]] and [[Feminism|women's]] advocate.


==Background==
==Background==
The daughter of [[Danish people|Danish]] immigrants, Esther Eggertsen grew up in a Mormon family in [[Provo, Utah]]. She graduated from [[Brigham Young University]] in 1927 with a degree in physical education, and a master's from Teachers' College, Columbia University, in 1930.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453935/Esther-Peterson</ref> She held several teaching positions in the 1930s, including one at the innovative [[Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry]], which brought milliners, telephone operators and garment workers onto the campus.<ref name="NYTobit" />
The daughter of [[Danish people|Danish]] immigrants, Esther Eggertsen grew up in a Mormon family in [[Provo, Utah]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-people/esther-peterson|title=Esther Eggertsen Peterson {{!}} AFL-CIO|website=aflcio.org|access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref> She graduated from [[Brigham Young University]] in 1927 with a degree in physical education, and a master's from [[Teachers College, Columbia University]], in 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453935/Esther-Peterson|title=Esther Peterson - American consumer advocate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Esther Peterson Personal Papers {{!}} JFK Library |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/EEPPP |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.jfklibrary.org}}</ref> She held several teaching positions in the 1930s, including one at the innovative [[Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry]], which brought milliners, telephone operators and garment workers onto the campus.<ref name="NYTobit" />


She moved to [[New York City]] where she married Oliver Peterson. In 1932, the two moved to [[Boston]], where she taught at The Winsor School and volunteered at the [[YWCA]].
She moved to [[New York City]] where she married Oliver Peterson. In 1932, the two moved to [[Boston]], where she taught at The Winsor School and volunteered at the [[YWCA]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1501361|title=Peterson, Esther (09 December 1906–20 December 1997), government official, consumer and labor activist, and women's rights advocate |work= American National Biography |year=2014 |language=en|doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1501361|access-date=2019-07-12|last1=Cobble |first1=Dorothy Sue |last2=Bowes |first2=Julia |isbn=978-0-19-860669-7 }}</ref>

Peterson was a [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saint]].<ref>[[Michale K. Winder]], ''Presidents and Prophets'' (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2007), p. 337</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
In 1938, Peterson became a paid organizer for the [[American Federation of Teachers]] and traveled around New England. In 1944, Peterson became the first lobbyist for the [[National Labor Relations Board]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 1948, the State Department offered Peterson’s husband a position as a diplomat in [[Sweden]]. The family returned to Washington D.C., in 1957 and Peterson joined the Industrial Union Department of the [[AFL-CIO]], becoming its first woman lobbyist.
In 1938, Peterson became a paid organizer for the [[American Federation of Teachers]] and traveled around New England. In 1944, Peterson became the first lobbyist for the [[National Labor Relations Board]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] In 1948, the [[State Department]] offered Peterson's husband a position as a diplomat in [[Sweden]]. The family returned to Washington, D.C., in 1957 and Peterson joined the [[Industrial Union Department]] of the [[AFL–CIO]], becoming its first woman lobbyist.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEWsZ81Bd3YC&q=esther+peterson&pg=PA1079|title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History|last=Arnesen|first=Eric|date=2007|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415968263|language=en}}</ref>


She was Assistant Secretary of [[United States Department of Labor|Labor]] and Director of the [[United States Women's Bureau]] under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. In 1964, President [[Lyndon Johnson]] named Peterson to the newly created post of Special Assistant for [[Consumer Affairs]].<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Esther Peterson To Be Elevated|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YJkuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pqoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2774,224928&dq=esther+peterson&hl=en|accessdate=February 17, 2012|newspaper=The Sumpter Daily Item|date=January 3, 1964}}</ref> She would later serve as President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs.
She was Assistant Secretary of [[United States Department of Labor|Labor]] and Director of the [[United States Women's Bureau]] under fellow Bostonian President [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JpsWXjesELUC&q=esther+peterson|title=The Presidency and Women: Promise, Performance, and Illusion|last=Martin|first=Janet M.|date=2009-09-13|publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=9781603441544|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Molotsky |first1=Irvin |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=1986-12-08 |title=WASHINGTON TALK: WORKING PROFILE; EVERYMAN'S ADVOCATE: ESTHER PETERSON |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/08/us/washington-talk-working-profile-everyman-s-advocate-esther-peterson.html |access-date=2022-11-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1964, President [[Lyndon Johnson]] named Peterson to the newly created post of Special Assistant for [[Consumer Affairs]].<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Esther Peterson To Be Elevated|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YJkuAAAAIBAJ&pg=2774,224928&dq=esther+peterson&hl=en|access-date=February 17, 2012|newspaper=The Sumpter Daily Item|date=January 3, 1964}}</ref> She would later serve as President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs.


Peterson was also Vice President for Consumer Affairs at [[Giant-Carlisle|Giant Food]] Corporation, and president of the [[National Consumers League]].
Peterson was also Vice President for Consumer Affairs at [[Giant-Carlisle|Giant Food]] Corporation, and president of the [[National Consumers League]].


She received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/849025|title=Jimmy Carter - Presenting the Medal of Freedom to Roger Baldwin (not in attendance), Harold Brown, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Warren Christopher, Walter Cronkite, Kirk Douglas, Dr. Karl Menninger (not in attendance), Edmund S. Muskie, Margaret McNamara, Esther Peterson, Ambassador Gerard C. Smith, Robert S. Strauss, Judge Elbert Tuttle, Chief Justice Earl Warren (posthumously), Ambassador Andrew Young|last=President (1977-1981 : Carter). White House Staff Photographers|date=20 January 1977|via=US National Archives Research Catalog|access-date=7 December 2017|archive-date=4 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804221749/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/849025|url-status=dead}}</ref> Peterson was elected to the [[Common Cause]] National Governing Board in 1982. In 1990, the American Council on Consumer Interests created the Esther Peterson Consumer Policy Forum lectureship, which is presented annually at the council's conference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.consumerinterests.org/esther-peterson-award|title=Esther Peterson Award|website=www.consumerinterests.org|access-date=2019-07-12}}</ref> She was named a delegate of the [[United Nations]] as a [[UNESCO]] representative in 1993. In that same year, Peterson was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref>[https://www.womenofthehall.org/inductee/esther-peterson/ National Women's Hall of Fame, Esther Peterson]</ref>
She received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 1981.<ref>http://research.archives.gov/description/849025</ref> Peterson was named a delegate of the [[United Nations]] as a [[UNESCO]] representative in 1993.


==Death==
==Death==
Peterson died on December 20th, 1997.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |url= http://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/22/us/esther-peterson-dies-at-91-worked-to-help-consumers.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Esther Peterson Dies at 91; Worked to Help Consumers |first=Irvin |last=Molotsky |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 December 1997 |publisher=[[New York Times Company|NYTC]] |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0362-4331 |accessdate=7 October 2012}}</ref>
Peterson died on December 20, 1997.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/22/us/esther-peterson-dies-at-91-worked-to-help-consumers.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Esther Peterson Dies at 91; Worked to Help Consumers |first=Irvin |last=Molotsky |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 December 1997 |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=7 October 2012}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Great Society]]
*[[Great Society]]
*[[Simon P. Eggertsen, Sr., House]]<!--- home of grandfather(?) born 1826 immigrated from Denmark had large family ---->
*[[Simon P. Eggertsen Sr. House]]<!--- home of grandfather(?) born 1826 immigrated from Denmark had large family ---->


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

⚫
* ''Restless: The Memoirs of Labor and Consumer Activist Esther Peterson'' (Caring Publishing, 1997)
==Sources ==
⚫
* ''Restless: The Memoirs of Labor and Consumer Activist Esther Peterson'' (Caring Publishing, 1997) {{ISBN|9781886450028}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://research.archives.gov/person/2688807 Archives.gov]
*[https://research.archives.gov/person/2688807 Archives.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310215140/https://research.archives.gov/person/2688807 |date=2016-03-10 }}
⚫
*[http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch00029 Papers, 1884-1998 (inclusive), 1929-1998 (bulk).] [https://web.archive.org/web/20041016004838/http://www.sfbg.com/lit/march00/smile.html Schlesinger Library], Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
*[http://www.consumersunion.org/aboutcu/estherp.htm Consumers Union bio]
⚫
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927032402/http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/peterson.cfm AFL-CIO Profile]
⚫
*[http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch00029 Papers, 1884-1998 (inclusive), 1929-1998 (bulk).] [http://radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library Schlesinger Library], Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
*[https://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKOH-EEP-02.aspx Transcribed oral history interview with Esther Peterson at the JFK Library]
*[http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=120 National Women's Hall of Fame]
⚫
*[http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/peterson.cfm AFL-CIO Profile]
*[http://www.fcs.utah.edu/undergrad/scholarships/peterson.html Esther Peterson Scholarship]


{{Consumerism}}
{{Consumerism}}
Line 68: Line 77:
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Peterson, Esther
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American consumer rights activist
| DATE OF BIRTH = December 9, 1906
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Provo, Utah]]
| DATE OF DEATH = December 20, 1997
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Esther}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Esther}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:American feminists]]
[[Category:American feminists]]
[[Category:Consumer rights activists]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:American people of Danish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Danish descent]]
[[Category:Brigham Young University alumni]]
[[Category:Brigham Young University alumni]]
[[Category:Consumer rights activists]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:American Latter Day Saints]]

Revision as of 17:05, 22 October 2023

Esther Peterson
Peterson in 1962
2nd Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs
In office
January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byVirginia Knauer
Succeeded byVirginia Knauer
1st Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs
In office
January 3, 1964 – May 1, 1967
PresidentLyndon Johnson
Preceded byOffice established
Executive Vice Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
In office
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byOffice established
4th Director of the United States Women's Bureau
In office
January 20, 1961 – January 3, 1964
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Lyndon Johnson
Preceded byAlice K. Leopold
Succeeded byMary Dublin Keyserling
Personal details
Born
Esther Eggertsen

(1906-12-09)December 9, 1906
Provo, Utah, U.S.
DiedDecember 20, 1997(1997-12-20) (aged 91)
Washington
Spouse
Oliver Peterson
​
(m. 1932)​
Children4
Alma materBrigham Young University (1927)
Teachers College, Columbia University (1930)

Esther Eggertsen Peterson (December 9, 1906 – December 20, 1997) was an American consumer and women's advocate.

Background

The daughter of Danish immigrants, Esther Eggertsen grew up in a Mormon family in Provo, Utah.[1] She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1927 with a degree in physical education, and a master's from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1930.[2][3] She held several teaching positions in the 1930s, including one at the innovative Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry, which brought milliners, telephone operators and garment workers onto the campus.[4]

She moved to New York City where she married Oliver Peterson. In 1932, the two moved to Boston, where she taught at The Winsor School and volunteered at the YWCA.[5]

Career

In 1938, Peterson became a paid organizer for the American Federation of Teachers and traveled around New England. In 1944, Peterson became the first lobbyist for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. In 1948, the State Department offered Peterson's husband a position as a diplomat in Sweden. The family returned to Washington, D.C., in 1957 and Peterson joined the Industrial Union Department of the AFL–CIO, becoming its first woman lobbyist.[6]

She was Assistant Secretary of Labor and Director of the United States Women's Bureau under fellow Bostonian President John F. Kennedy.[7][8] In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson named Peterson to the newly created post of Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs.[9] She would later serve as President Jimmy Carter's Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs.

Peterson was also Vice President for Consumer Affairs at Giant Food Corporation, and president of the National Consumers League.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981.[10] Peterson was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board in 1982. In 1990, the American Council on Consumer Interests created the Esther Peterson Consumer Policy Forum lectureship, which is presented annually at the council's conference.[11] She was named a delegate of the United Nations as a UNESCO representative in 1993. In that same year, Peterson was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[12]

Death

Peterson died on December 20, 1997.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Esther Eggertsen Peterson | AFL-CIO". aflcio.org. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  2. ^ "Esther Peterson - American consumer advocate".
  3. ^ "Esther Peterson Personal Papers | JFK Library". www.jfklibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  4. ^ a b Molotsky, Irvin (22 December 1997). "Esther Peterson Dies at 91; Worked to Help Consumers". The New York Times. New York. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  5. ^ Cobble, Dorothy Sue; Bowes, Julia (2014). "Peterson, Esther (09 December 1906–20 December 1997), government official, consumer and labor activist, and women's rights advocate". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1501361. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  6. ^ Arnesen, Eric (2007). Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415968263.
  7. ^ Martin, Janet M. (2009-09-13). The Presidency and Women: Promise, Performance, and Illusion. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 9781603441544.
  8. ^ Molotsky, Irvin; Times, Special To the New York (1986-12-08). "WASHINGTON TALK: WORKING PROFILE; EVERYMAN'S ADVOCATE: ESTHER PETERSON". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  9. ^ "Esther Peterson To Be Elevated". The Sumpter Daily Item. January 3, 1964. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  10. ^ President (1977-1981 : Carter). White House Staff Photographers (20 January 1977). "Jimmy Carter - Presenting the Medal of Freedom to Roger Baldwin (not in attendance), Harold Brown, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Warren Christopher, Walter Cronkite, Kirk Douglas, Dr. Karl Menninger (not in attendance), Edmund S. Muskie, Margaret McNamara, Esther Peterson, Ambassador Gerard C. Smith, Robert S. Strauss, Judge Elbert Tuttle, Chief Justice Earl Warren (posthumously), Ambassador Andrew Young". Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2017 – via US National Archives Research Catalog.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Esther Peterson Award". www.consumerinterests.org. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  12. ^ National Women's Hall of Fame, Esther Peterson

Sources

  • Restless: The Memoirs of Labor and Consumer Activist Esther Peterson (Caring Publishing, 1997) ISBN 9781886450028

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Esther_Peterson&oldid=1181370417"