author
Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge
1866–1948
A pioneering reformer who helped shape modern social work, she brought legal training, research, and activism together in the fight for better labor laws, child welfare, and immigrant protections. Her work at the University of Chicago helped turn social work into a serious academic field as well as a public calling.
1 Audiobook
New Homes for Old
by Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge
About the author
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, on April 1, 1866, Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge grew up in a prominent public-minded family and went on to study at Wellesley College, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Chicago. She became the first woman admitted to the Kentucky bar and later earned advanced degrees at Chicago, where she joined the faculty and built a lasting career as a teacher, researcher, and reformer.
Breckinridge is best known for helping create the professional study of social work in the United States. Working closely with reformers including Jane Addams and Edith Abbott, she connected university research with the realities of poverty, immigration, housing, labor conditions, and the lives of women and children. She taught at the University of Chicago and played a major role in developing its program in social service administration.
Her writing and public service reflected a belief that good policy should be grounded in evidence and aimed at protecting vulnerable people. Over time, she became an influential voice in Progressive Era reform and in national conversations about welfare and social policy. She died in Chicago on July 30, 1948, but her legacy remains central to the history of social work, public welfare, and women in higher education.