Catharine Esther Beecher

Beecher, Catharine Esther (1800–78), U.S. educator and advocate of higher education for women. Beecher established seminaries for women in Hartford and Cincinnati. She originated the discipline of home economics and pioneered calisthenics for girls. Beecher was opposed to women's suffrage, believing that women should devote their lives to being homemakers and that the purpose of their education was to prepare them for this role.