Peixotto, Jessica (1864–1941)
Peixotto, Jessica (1864–1941)
American professor and social economist. Born Jessica Blanche Peixotto, Oct 9, 1864, in New York, NY; died Oct 19, 1941, in Berkeley, CA; dau. of Raphael Peixotto (merchant) and Myrtilla Jessica (Davis) Peixotto; sister of Ernest Clifford Peixotto (author and artist, 1869–40).
Second woman to earn a doctorate from University of California, studied English, economics, and political science at Berkeley (1891–1900); published doctoral dissertation, The French Revolution and Modern French Socialism (1901); lectured in Berkeley's sociology department (1904), later earned full professorship (1918), and briefly served as chair, working predominantly in economics department until retirement (1935); developed renowned graduate seminar in history of economic thought; initiated special economics department program (1917–18) for welfare work that led to establishment of separate social work school at Berkeley; was a founder of Heller Committee for Research in Social Economics; served as executive chair of child welfare department of Woman's Committee of Council of National Defense and then as chief of its child conservation section, working with Julia Lathrop; elected vice-president of American Economic Association (1928); served briefly as member of Consumers' Advisory Board of federal National Recovery Administration; wrote Getting and Spending at the Professional Standard of Living: A Study of the Costs of Living an Academic Life (1927), among others.