Rosa Bouton (c. December 19, 1860 – February 15, 1951) was an American chemist and professor who organized and directed the School of Domestic Science (now the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1898. Despite the lack of funding, Rosa Bouton worked to provide a course to teach young women about the realms of domestic science. As years passed and the demand for more courses and areas of study emerged, Bouton, as the sole instructor, continued to strengthen and build the department to provide such an education to these women.
Early life
Rosa Bouton was born on December 19, 1860, in Albany, Kansas, near present-day Sabetha. Rosa was one of five children. Her mother was Fanny (Waldo) Bouton and her father was Eli F. Bouton. Prior to her birth, Rosa's parents had just settled in the northeast town of Kansas after traveling cross country from New York State. At the age of seven, Rosa faced the death of her mother. Her father, Eli Bouton, was an accredited school teacher and worked in education for many years. After the death of his wife in 1867, Eli soon remarried.
Education
Rosa began her studies at the State Normal School in Peru, Nebraska. After just two years, in 1881, Rosa received her teaching certificate. Her work was recognized by a professor at the State Normal School, Henry Hudson Nicholson. Following his work at the State School, Nicholson moved on to teach chemistry at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. As a consequence of Rosa's fine work, Nicholson invited Rosa to go to Nebraska with him. In 1888 Rosa enrolled in graduate school at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and studied chemistry. Throughout her schooling years, Rosa also served as an instructor in the chemistry department. In 1891, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and, just two years later, she also received a Master of Liberal Arts Degree.
Career
1893–1912: Early career
Following her graduation, Rosa Bouton remained very active within the scientific community. She continued to work for the chemistry department at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), joined the American Chemical Society in 1893 and performed research that she would later publish in 1898. Rosa was the second female member of the American Chemical Society. While a graduate student at UNL, Rosa also was employed by the chemistry department, for whom she taught classes. For several years, Rosa taught courses relating both to analytical chemistry and applied domestic chemistry. The domestic science courses covered subjects such as food analysis, sanitation, and contaminants in food. Additionally, Rosa conducted research with a fellow faculty member, Samuel Avery, at UNL and in 1898 was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on her work with phenylglutaric acids. Her focus of study was on acids alongside the effect that phenyl groups have on the properties of acids.