Ellen Browning Scripps
Encyclopedia
Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836–August 3, 1932) was an American philanthropist
who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California
.
farm, where her father remarried and she helped raise her five half-siblings. She graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
in 1859 and taught school for eight years.
In 1873, Scripps helped her brother James
start The Detroit News
. She pioneered the concept of the feature article. Her half-brother E. W. founded the powerful chain of Scripps newspapers.
Scripps moved to La Jolla, California in 1896. She continued to write a widely-distributed daily newspaper column until the year of her death in 1932.
Scripps lived modestly, and was shy and unassuming. She was affectionally known as Miss Ellen. She was already wealthy in her own right, and when her brother George H. died in 1900 he left her a large amount of money. She regretted receiving such a large amount and felt her wealth was to be held in trust for humanity. She gave to many causes, often anonymously. She was a key early supporter of the San Diego Zoo
. Her main contributions are listed below.
In 1924, while recovering from a broken hip, she became interested in medicine and founded Scripps Hospital and Scripps Metabolic Clinic. These organizations eventually became The Scripps Research Institute
, and two of the core providers now comprising Scripps Health
—Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Clinic.
She founded Scripps College
in Claremont, CA in 1926.
Scripps died in La Jolla in 1932 at the age of 95, and her ashes were scattered from the R/V Scripps.
Her residence, designed in 1916 by Irving Gill
, was purchased by a community group of artists in 1939 for $10,000, remodeled in 1941, and opened as the "Art Center in La Jolla," which later became the La Jolla Museum of Art, then the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and now the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
The San Diego City Schools
named Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, which opened in 2001, in her honor.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Biography
Scripps was born in 1836 in London to James Mogg Scripps and Ellen Mary (Saunders) Scripps. Her father was a prominent bookbinder and came to America in 1844 with six motherless children. Scripps grew up on a Rushville, IllinoisRushville, Illinois
Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,212 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County.-Demographics:...
farm, where her father remarried and she helped raise her five half-siblings. She graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....
in 1859 and taught school for eight years.
In 1873, Scripps helped her brother James
James E. Scripps
James Edmund Scripps was an American newspaper publisher and philanthropist.Scripps was born in 1835 in London to James Mogg Scripps and Ellen Mary Scripps. His father was a bookbinder who came to America in 1844 with six motherless children. Scripps grew up on a Rushville, Illinois, farm...
start The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
. She pioneered the concept of the feature article. Her half-brother E. W. founded the powerful chain of Scripps newspapers.
Scripps moved to La Jolla, California in 1896. She continued to write a widely-distributed daily newspaper column until the year of her death in 1932.
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
. Her main contributions are listed below.
In 1924, while recovering from a broken hip, she became interested in medicine and founded Scripps Hospital and Scripps Metabolic Clinic. These organizations eventually became The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, and two of the core providers now comprising Scripps Health
Scripps Health
Scripps Health is a nonprofit health care system based in San Diego, California. The system includes four hospitals and 19 outpatient facilities, and treats a half-million patients annually through 2,600 affiliated physicians....
—Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Clinic.
She founded Scripps College
Scripps College
Scripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...
in Claremont, CA in 1926.
Scripps died in La Jolla in 1932 at the age of 95, and her ashes were scattered from the R/V Scripps.
Her residence, designed in 1916 by Irving Gill
Irving Gill
Irving John Gill , American architect, is considered a pioneer of the modern movement in architecture. He designed several buildings considered examples of San Diego's best architecture.-Biography:...
, was purchased by a community group of artists in 1939 for $10,000, remodeled in 1941, and opened as the "Art Center in La Jolla," which later became the La Jolla Museum of Art, then the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, and now the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
The San Diego City Schools
San Diego City Schools
San Diego Unified School District is the school district of San Diego, California. It was founded in 1854...
named Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, which opened in 2001, in her honor.
Quote
- If one could live one's life over again with the advantages of the experiences one has gone through it might be interesting as an experiment—not as a pleasure.
Major contributions
- 1903 George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory (now Scripps Institution of OceanographyScripps Institution of OceanographyScripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
), La Jolla - 1909 The Bishop's SchoolThe Bishop's School (La Jolla, California)The Bishop's School is an independent college preparatory Episcopalian day school located at 7607 La Jolla Boulevard in La Jolla, a community of San Diego...
- 1911 Acquired and willed land plots to people of San Diego (now North Grove and estuary of Torrey Pines State ReserveTorrey Pines State ReserveTorrey Pines State Natural Reserve is a coastal state park located in the California community of La Jolla, San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road . Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches of land on the Southern California coast...
) - 1912 La Jolla Precinct, including The La Jolla Woman's Club
- 1913 La Jolla Playground (now La Jolla Recreation Center)
- 1915 Scripps Aquarium, La Jolla (now Birch Aquarium at Scripps)
- 1915 Scripps Park, La Jolla
- 1918 A. R. Valentien watercolor paintings of California wildflowers, now at San Diego Natural History Museum
- 1923 Scripps Aviary, San Diego ZooSan Diego ZooThe San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
- 1924 Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla
- 1924 Scripps Metabolic Clinic (now Scripps Clinic and The Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
), La Jolla - 1926 Scripps College for Women (now Scripps CollegeScripps CollegeScripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...
), Claremont, CaliforniaClaremont, CaliforniaClaremont is a small affluent college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of the 2010 census is 34,926. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its... - 1931 Scripps Cottage, part of the campus of San Diego State UniversitySan Diego State UniversitySan Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, San Diego - 1931 Children's PoolChildren's Pool BeachChildren's Pool Beach, also known as Casa Beach, is a small sandy beach located at 850 Coast Boulevard, at the end of Jenner Street, in La Jolla, California....
, a seawall-protected beach in La Jolla
Further reading
- "In California", Time, February 22, 1926. Scripps appeared on the cover, the first from San Diego Biography, pp. 92–94; includes portrait
- Molly McClain, "The Scripps Family's San Diego Experiment," The Journal of San Diego History 56, nos. 1-2 (2010).
External links
- Ellen Browning Scripps
- Biography from History of San Diego County by Carl Heilbron, 1936
- E.W. Scripps Papers, Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections, Ohio University Libraries, Athens, Ohio. Manuscript collection, primarily correspondence.
- "How Scripps Institution Came To San Diego", The Journal of San Diego History 27:3 (Summer 1981) by Elizabeth N. Shor
- "How Ellen Scripps Brought Ancient Egypt to San Diego", The Journal of San Diego History 38:2 (1992) by Bruce Kamerling
- "Anna and Albert Valentien: The Arts and Crafts Movement in San Diego", The Journal of San Diego History 24:3 (1978) by Bruce Kamerling
- "Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
- Biography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- "The Bishop's School, 1909-2009", The Journal of San Diego History 54:4 (2009) by Molly McClain