Lilian Brandt

1873-1951

Lilian Brandt was an educator, social welfare researcher, and author who, through her association with the New York Charity Organization Society and its School of Philanthropy, contributed to social welfare reform during the first half of the twentieth century. She was born May 15, 1873, and graduated from Wellesley College in 1895. She taught history and classical languages at several colleges before she returned to Wellesley to earn a masters degree in 1901. In the summer of 1902, Lilian attended the New York Charity Organization Society’s Summer School of Philanthropy. Two years later, she was selected by Edward T. Devine to serve as secretary of the Committee on Social Research for both the Charity Organization Society and the School of Philanthropy.[1]

In 1903 Lilian published her article “Some Aspects of Tuberculosis” and helped to develop the preventative aspects of the Charity Organization’s anti-tuberculosis campaign. She also became an instructor at the School of Philanthropy. Throughout her life she remained dedicated in social welfare-related projects. Her most significant contribution was her ability to compile and interpret statistical and factual information, which she made available to other social workers. She died June 4, 1951.

[1] Domenica M. Barbuto, American Settlement Houses and Progressive Social Reform: An Encyclopedia of The American Settlement Movement (Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1999), 35.