#womens work
William Henry Radebaugh (1909-1996), was a public relations executive at the DuPont Company for over twenty years. He wrote, produced and directed many films about the company during his tenure there and for several years after his retirement.
He began his career in public relations and in 1942, founded and was executive director of, the South Jersey Manufacturer’s Association in Camden, New Jersey. Radebaugh then took a position at the DuPont Company as a public relations consultant in 1952. He later became the Director of Public Relations for the Textile Fibers Department.
After retiring from his career in public relations with the DuPont Company in 1974, he went on to produce more films for DuPont with two former colleagues who had started the production company, Arden Films. Radebaugh was also an accomplished musician, having played with Jimmie and Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, and Jack and Charlie Teagarden. He was also an artist, working in needlepoint, watercolors, and printmaking.
Hagley Library’s collection of William Henry Radebaugh films and scripts (Accession 1975.412) includes correspondence, scripts, storyboards, proposals, and films like this one, written and directed by William Henry Radebaugh during his employment at the DuPont Company or for the company once he retired. This ca. 1970 reel shows how DuPont materials that were used in the Apollo 11 spacesuit were also purposed for commercial household use in “women’s chores”.
To view a selection of films from this collection online now, click here to view its page in our Digital Archive.
Since it’s the first day of Black History Month, it seems appropriate that I share this portrait of Marjorie Lee Browne, who was one of the first African-American women to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Quoted from Wikipedia:
Browne’s work on classical groups demonstrated simple proofs of important topological properties of and relations between classical groups. Her work in general focused on linearandmatrix algebra. Browne saw the importance of computer science early on, writing a $60,000 grant to IBM to bring a computer to NCCU in 1960 – one of the first computers in academic computing, and probably the first at a historically black school. Throughout her career, Browne worked to help gifted mathematics students, educating them and offering them financial support to pursue higher education. Notable students included Joseph Battle, William Fletcher, Asamoah Nkwanta, and Nathan Simms. She established summer institutes to provide continuing education in mathematics for high school teachers. In 1974 she was awarded the first W. W. Rankin Memorial Award from the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics for her work with mathematics education.
I completed this illustration a while back for Women’s Work, a really awesome zine on women - past and present - working in STEM. The project was put together and curated by the wonderfully talented Shannon MayandCeline Loup. You can learn more about the zine and see more art here.
*EDIT* A math teacher approached me about purchasing a print of this illustration for her classroom. I’ve made 7x10 prints available in my shop, here.
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