Wikipedia

Marguerite Engler Schwarzman

Marguerite Louise Engler Schwarzman (January 31, 1892 – August 29, 1985) was an American educator, librarian, and writer. She founded a children's science museum, and was an activist on education, housing, and aging issues.

Marguerite Engler Schwarzman
A young white woman, hair dressed in a bouffant updo, wearing a white shirt with a high collar and a small dark bow at the throat
Marguerite Engler, from the 1914 yearbook of Barnard College
Born
Marguerite Louise Engler

January 31, 1892
New York City
DiedAugust 29, 1985
San Diego, California
Other namesMargaret Schwarzmann
Occupation(s)Educator, librarian, writer, activist
Notable workSteel (1937)

Early life edit

Marguerite Louise Engler was born in New York City, the daughter of Swiss immigrants Charles Ulrich Engler and Marie Wyss Engler.[1] Her father was a real estate developer.[2] Her mother was a teacher, and her maternal grandfather was a professor at the University of Bern.[3] She graduated from Barnard College in 1914, and earned a master's degree at Teachers College, Columbia University.[4][5][6]

Career edit

Schwarzman taught science at the Scarborough Day School in New York, and worked at the American Museum of Natural History before she married in 1918.[7] In 1927 Schwarzman founded the Children's Laboratories, an experimental children's museum in a cottage in New Rochelle, New York.[8][9] Among the exhibits were a live snake, a guinea pig, fossils, a microscope, and educational films.[10][11] She wrote children's books including Steel (1937, illustrated by Th. D. Luykx), a picture book about the process of steel-making.[12][13] She was also co-author of a paleontology textbook.[14]

In the 1930s, Schwarzman served on the executive committee of the National Board of Review, was a member of the Westchester County Recreation Commission,[8] and was president of the Barnard alumnae chapter in Westchester.[15]

After her husband died in 1944, Schwarzman moved to California, where she worked as a librarian at San Diego State College,[4] and as education director at a Unitarian church.[16] She was founding director of the Liberal Religious Education Association.[4] She was vice-president of the San Diego Citizens' Housing Council, and in that capacity testified at a congressional hearing on affordable housing and the Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill in 1948.[17] In 1964 and 1965, she worked in Germany with the Unitarian Service Committee.[4]

In 1976, as chair of the California Commission on Aging,[18] Schwarzman was appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the 14th District Medical Quality Review Committee, overseeing San Diego and Imperial counties.[19] In 1978, she testified again at a Congressional hearing, on California's Proposition 13.[20]

Personal life edit

Marguerite Engler married Swiss-born lawyer Jakob Anton "Jack" Schwarzmann in 1918.[21] They had sons Robert and Richard. Richard, a history professor, died in 1977.[22] Her husband died in 1944. She died in 1985, aged 93 years, in San Diego, California. A senior center in San Diego was named after Schwarzman, in tribute to her work on behalf of senior citizens. Beginning in 1986, the Area Agency on Aging's Marguerite Schwarzman Award was "given annually to a San Diegan making a significant volunteer contribution to the aging network".[23]

References edit

  1. ^ Schwarzman, Marguerite E. (1949-07-16). "Family Heirlooms Now Recall Happy Days of By Gone Years". Times-Advocate. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "C. V. Engler, Who Helped Park Hill Plantings, is Dead". Times-Advocate. 1949-03-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Obituary of Marie Engler". Times-Advocate. 1946-06-01. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "Former Librarian Will Speak Before Unitarian Fellowship". Times-Advocate. 1966-03-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Schwarzman, Marguerite E. "Statistics for All: The Fact Picture from Vienna Is a Significant Visual Aid" Educational Screen ( Chicago ) 12(September 1933): 189-190.
  6. ^ Schwarzman , Marguerite E. "The Neurath pictorial statistics" Progressive Education 11(March 1934): 211-13.
  7. ^ "Marguerite L. Engler Bride of J. A. Schwarzmann". New-York Tribune. 1918-10-13. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "P.T.A. to Meet; Mrs. Marguerite Schwarzman to Speak at Fairmount School". The Record. 1935-04-23. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Facts Versus Fiction". The Columbia Record. 1928-02-04. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Gives Children Science Play". The Pittsburgh Press. 1928-12-31. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Science Aids for Children". Oklahoma City Advertiser. 1932-06-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Alphabet of Illustrators: Th.D.Luykx, Steel 1937". Full Table. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  13. ^ Gable, Gene (2012-05-11). "Scanning Around With Gene: Teaching Kids About Industry". Creative Pro. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  14. ^ Zittel, Karl Alfred von; Schwarzman, Marguerite Louise Engler; Bush, Lucy Peck; Schlosser, Max; Woodward, Arthur Smith; Eastman, Charles Rochester (1900–1925). Text-book of paleontology. London ; New York: Macmillan.
  15. ^ "Barnard in Westchester". Bronxville Review. December 9, 1933. p. 11. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via Hudson River Valley Heritage Historical Newspapers.
  16. ^ "Unitarians Will Meet". Weekly Times-Advocate. 1960-06-03. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ United States Congress Joint Committee on Housing (1948). Study and Investigation of Housing: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on Housing ... Eightieth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 3633–3636.
  18. ^ Studer, Robert P. (1977-05-04). "San Diegan Fights for Elderly on State Level". The Redondo Reflex. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Governor Appoints 11". The Chico Enterprise-Record. 1976-05-21. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ United States Congress House Select Committee on Aging Subcommittee on Human Services (1978). Future of aging/impact of Jarvis-Gann: hearing before the Subcommittee on Human Services of the Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, second session ... U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 7–10.
  21. ^ "Schwarzmann-Engler; New York Couple go to Lakewood, N. J. for Wedding Trip". New York Herald. 1918-10-13. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Fanucchi, Kenneth (1977-06-09). "El Camino's Pioneer Teacher Union Hopes to Survive Death of Founding President". The Los Angeles Times. p. 149. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Fabrick, Anne (1994-02-16). "Nominations Asked for Senior Award". The Star-News. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-10-19 – via Newspapers.com.
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