Minna C. Denton

Minna C. Denton
Minna C. Denton, from a 1925 newspaper
Born(1873-01-16)January 16, 1873
Saline County, Kansas, U.S.
DiedJanuary 20, 1958(1958-01-20) (aged 85)
Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S.
OccupationsHome economist, food scientist, federal official

Minna Caroline Denton (January 16, 1873 – January 20, 1958) was an American home economist and food scientist. She was Assistant Chief of the Office of Home Economics in the United States Departrnent of Agriculture (USDA) in the 1920s. She also taught at Ohio State University, George Washington University, the University of Nebraska, Wittenberg University, and the University of Tampa.

Early life and education

Denton was born in Saline County, Kansas, and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas,[1] the daughter of Lucius Gary Denton and Caroline Antonett Hubbard Denton.[2] She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1900,[3][4] and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1918.[1][5] She was "the first person ever to receive the degree of doctor of philosophy in home economics," according to a later profile.[6]

Career

Denton taught school in Arkansas,[1] and at Lewis Institute, Ohio State University and Milwaukee-Downer College.[7] She was Assistant Chief of the Office of Home Economics in the USDA in the 1920s.[8][9] She was chair of the Research Committee of the American Home Economics Association for five years.[10]

After her time at the USDA, she taught at George Washington University[11] Wittenberg College,[12] and the University of Nebraska.[13] In 1937, Denton was named head of the home economics department at the University of Tampa.[6][14] She presented a paper at the World Federation of Education Associations meeting in Havana in 1941.[15] She was a visiting lecturer at other schools,[16][17] and spoke to professional and community groups about nutrition and other topics.[18][19][20]

Publications

Denton's work was published in scholarly journals including Journal of Education,[21] School Science and Mathematics,[22][23] The Scientific Monthly,[24] Journal of Biological Chemistry,[25] The Journal of Home Economics,[26] and Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.[27]

  • "A Washington's Birthday Entertainment" (1896)[21]
  • "The Interfoliar Scales of Monocotyledonous Aquatics" (1902)[28]
  • "Suggestions from Bacteriology and Sanitation for the High School Course in Hygiene" (1907)[22]
  • "The Bed, Its Equipment, and Care" (1914)[23]
  • "The Desire for Food in Man" (1916)[24]
  • "Feeding Experiments with Raw and Boiled Carrots" (1918, with Emma Kohman)[25]
  • Changes in Food Value of Vegetables Due to Cooking (1919)[29]
  • "General Rules for Choosing Oven Temperatures" (1920)[26]
  • "The Relation of Alcohol Precipitate to Jellying Power of Citrus Pectin Extracts" (1923, with Ruth Johnstin)[27]
  • New and Old Ways of Cooking Vegetables (1932, pamphlet)[30]

Personal life

Denton lived with another home economist during her time in Washington, D.C.[1] She traveled with colleagues Phoebe Buell and Ellen Clara Sabin in 1934, to Port Arthur in Canada.[31] She died in 1958, at age 85, in Fort Smith, Arkansas.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dr. Minna Caroline Denton Heads One of Two Government Bureaus Devoted Exclusively to Women". Southwest American. 1925-06-07. p. 27. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Dr. Minna C. Denton of Home Economics Bureau is Visitor". Times Record. 1925-06-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Women's Voices: Minna C. Denton". Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  4. ↑ University of Michigan, Michiganensian (1900 yearbook): 54-55; via HathiTrust.
  5. ↑ "Dr Minna Denton at College for Summer; Outstanding Worker in Home Economics to be Visiting Professor". The Morning Chronicle. 1930-06-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "New Home-Ec Course Listed at U. of Tampa; Dr. Denton is Named Department Head". The Tampa Tribune. 1937-08-22. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Milwaukee Downer College (1903). Cumtux: Milwaukee Downer Annual. p. 9.
  8. ↑ Baker, Gladys L. (1976). "Women in the U.S. Department of Agriculture". Agricultural History. 50 (1): 190–201. ISSN 0002-1482.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Minna Caroline Denton". Times Record. 1925-06-04. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Watkins Cook Book. J.R. Watkins Company. 1930.
  11. ↑ "Dr. Minna Denton Heads G.W.U. Home Economics; Noted Woman Educator Here from Ohio University". The Washington Post. 1925-08-30. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Woman Scientist Will be Speaker; Dr. Minna C. Denton Will Give Address at Meeting of Altrusa Club". Springfield News-Sun. 1933-03-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Bower Addresses Session; Minna Denton Also Talks at Home Economics Dinner". Lincoln Journal Star. 1932-03-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Dr. Minna Denton, Former Fort Smithian, Visits Here". Times Record. 1939-06-21. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Dr. Denton Reads Paper at Havana Convention". Times Record. 1941-01-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Home Economy Taught Girls; Domestic Science Lessons Taken to Equip for Instruction". San Francisco Chronicle. 1925-07-29. p. 27. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Eat Your Medicine". The Progressive-Signal. 1930-06-26. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Dr. Minna Denton to be Honor Guest at Federation Meet". Southwest American. 1925-06-06. p. 5. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Dr. Minna Denton Speaks at Kappa Gamma Meeting". The Tampa Tribune. 1941-03-14. p. 12. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Food Value of Broths Topic; Miss Minna Denton Discusses Dietetics at Home Makers' Convention". Knoxville Sentinel. 1921-05-19. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. 1 2 Denton, Minna C. (1896). "A Washington's Birthday Entertainment". The Journal of Education. 43 (3 (1061)): 42–43. ISSN 0022-0574.
  22. 1 2 Denton, Minna C. "Suggestions from Bacteriology and Sanitation for the High School Course in Hygiene" School Science and Mathematics 7(3)(1907): 204-209.
  23. 1 2 Denton, Minna C. (1914). "The Bed, Its Equipment and Care". School Science and Mathematics. 14 (7): 611–613. doi:10.1111/j.1949-8594.1914.tb16182.x. ISSN 1949-8594.
  24. 1 2 Denton, Minna C. (December 1916). "The Desire for Food in Man". The Scientific Monthly. 3 (6): 557–568. ISSN 0096-3771.
  25. 1 2 Denton, Minna C.; Kohman, Emma (November 1918). "Feeding Experiment with Raw and Boiled Carrots". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 36 (2): 249–263. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)86394-3. ISSN 0021-9258.
  26. 1 2 Denton, Minna C. (December 1920). "General Rules for Choosing Oven Temperatures". The Journal of Home Economics. 12 (12): 541–543 – via Internet Archive.
  27. 1 2 Johnstin, Ruth.; Denton, Minna C. (1923-08-01). "The Relation of Alcohol Precipitate to Jellying Power of Citrus Pectin Extracts". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 15 (8): 778–780. doi:10.1021/ie50164a003. ISSN 0019-7866.
  28. ↑ Denton, Minna C. (1902). "The Interfoliar Scales of Monocotyledonous Aquatics". Third Report of the Michigan Academy of Science: 50.
  29. ↑ Denton, Minna Caroline (1919). Changes in Food Value of Vegetables Due to Cooking. University of Chicago.
  30. ↑ Denton, Minna. New and Old Ways of Cooking Vegetables (University of Nebraska Agricultural College Extension Service Bulletin, 1932).
  31. ↑ "Miss Ellen C. Sabin, Dr. Minna C. Denton are Visitors in City". The Minneapolis Star. 1934-06-19. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Dr. Minna Denton (funeral notice)". Times Record. 1958-01-22. p. 17. Retrieved 2026-06-17 – via Newspapers.com.
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