McLaren, Louise Leonard (1885–1968)

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McLaren, Louise Leonard (1885–1968)

American labor educator. Name variations: Louise Leonard, Louise McLaren. Born Louise Leonard, Aug 10, 1885, in Wellsboro, PA; died Dec 16, 1968, in East Stroudsburg, PA; dau. of Fred Churchill Leonard (lawyer, US marshal, and bank president) and Estella (Cook) Leonard (schoolteacher); Vassar College, AB, 1907; Columbia University, AM, 1927; m. Myron McLaren (professor at St. John's College, Annapolis), 1930.

Worked for Young Women's Christian Association, as industrial secretary in Wilkes Barre, PA (1914–18), and metropolitan industrial secretary in Baltimore, MD (1918–20), becoming national industrial secretary for the south (1920); formed committee of educators, industrial workers, and trade unionists (1926), to establish Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (1927); served as director and organizer of school, traveling to recruit students and supporters, and educating women about impact of rapid industrialization (1927–44), and overseeing inclusion of men into school (1938); held teaching and research position with American Labor Education Service until retirement (1968).