Kate Gleason facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kate Gleason
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| Born |
Catherine Anselm Gleason
November 25, 1865 |
| Died | January 9, 1933 (aged 67) |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, New York |
| Alma mater | Cornell University |
| Occupation | Engineer, businesswoman |
Catherine Anselm Gleason (born November 25, 1865 – died January 9, 1933) was an amazing American engineer and businesswoman. She was famous for being a successful woman in engineering, a field mostly for men back then. She was also known for her generosity and helping others.
Contents
Early Life and Starting Work
Catherine Anselm Gleason was the first of four children. She was born in Rochester, New York. Her parents, William and Ellen McDermott Gleason, had moved there from Ireland.
Her father owned a company that made machine tools. This company later became known as Gleason Works. It grew to be one of the world's most important makers of gear-cutting machines.
When Kate was 11, her stepbrother Tom died. This was a tough time for her father's company. Tom had been a very important helper. So, at just 12 years old, Kate started working for her father. She helped fill the gap Tom had left.
Studying Engineering
In 1884, when she was 19, Kate Gleason joined the Mechanical Arts program at Cornell University. She was the first woman ever allowed to study engineering there. Cornell University is in Ithaca, NY.
However, Kate could not finish her studies at Cornell. She was needed back at the factory. Her father had hired someone to replace her, but the company faced money problems. He could no longer pay the replacement, so he called Kate home to help again.
She never officially earned a degree. But through training and learning on her own, she became a recognized engineer. She also got more education at Sibley College of Engraving and The Mechanics Institute. This institute is now called Rochester Institute of Technology.
Working at Gleason Works
Kate Gleason was very active at Gleason Works. She worked as the treasurer, managing the company's money. She was also a saleswoman for the company.
In 1893, she traveled around Europe. Her goal was to help the company grow its business. This was one of the first times an American company tried to sell its products all over the world. Today, sales outside the U.S. make up almost three-quarters of the company's business.
A writer named Fred H. Colvin once described Kate Gleason. He called her "a kind of Madame Curie of machine tools." He added that Kate learned her father's business from the very beginning. She worked in the shop and out in the field. By 1895, when she started selling her father's gear-cutting machines, she knew as much as anyone in the business.
Kate's mother, Ellen Gleason, was friends with Susan B. Anthony. Susan B. Anthony was a famous leader in the women's rights movement. Kate Gleason later said that Anthony gave her good advice. After Anthony's death, Kate Gleason worked hard to support women's right to vote.
New Challenges and Achievements
Kate Gleason left Gleason Works in 1913. She then found work at the Ingle Machining Company. She joined this company on January 1, 1914.
She was chosen to help the company when it was having serious financial trouble. She was the first woman ever given such a role. With her guidance, she helped the company recover. She made sure all their debts were paid off. The company was returned to its owners by the end of 1915.
After her success with Ingle Machine Company, she focused on East Rochester. She helped fund and build eight factories for different companies there.
Breaking Barriers in Engineering
In 1914, Kate Gleason made history again. She was the first woman elected as a full member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Later, Lydia Weld also joined. Kate represented the society at the World Power Conference in Germany.
In 1918, she became the president of the First National Bank of East Rochester. This happened while the previous president was away fighting in World War I. During this time, she took on a difficult loan. She used it to finish building houses that the previous loan holder had left unfinished.
Building Affordable Homes
Kate used this opportunity to help people in Rochester. She started eight companies, including a construction company. This company built houses for middle-class families.
After this success, she began to experiment with concrete. She wanted to build cheap, fireproof houses. She developed a special pouring method for this. She wrote an article about her methods in 1921. It was for a trade magazine called Concrete. The article was titled "How Women Builds Houses to Sell at a Profit for $4000."
Later, she left Rochester for business chances in South Carolina and California. In the 1920s, she rebuilt a castle in Septmonts, France, for herself. She also helped the nearby towns recover from the damage of the World War. During this time, she visited California to study adobe buildings.
In 1924, the city of Berkeley, California, asked her for help. They needed to rebuild after a big fire. In the late 1920s, she started building more poured concrete homes in Sausalito, California. However, this project faced more problems and was not as successful as her Rochester buildings.
At her winter home in Beaufort, South Carolina, she planned to create a community. It would have garden apartments for artists and writers. Only 10 of these homes were finished when she died.
Personal Life and Beliefs
Kate Gleason strongly supported women's suffrage. This was the movement for women to gain the right to vote. At a convention in 1912, she promised $1,200 to the suffrage movement. This was one of the largest pledges made. Many of her personal writings show her and her father's support for women's right to vote.
Gleason believed that marriage would get in the way of her career. Because of this, she never married or had children.
Death and Lasting Impact
Kate Gleason died on January 9, 1933, from pneumonia. She is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Rochester.
She left most of her money, about $1.4 million, to institutions in the Rochester area. These included libraries, parks, and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The Kate Gleason College of Engineering at RIT is named in her honor. A bust, which is a sculpture of her head and shoulders, stands proudly in its hallway. Kate Gleason Hall is also a residence hall at RIT.
Gleason Works is still operating today. It has a strong connection with RIT. In 2010, RIT press published a collection of Kate Gleason's letters.
See also
In Spanish: Kate Gleason para niños
