Magdalene Lauridsen: A Danish Pioneer in the Field of Home Economics

Magdalene Lauridsen was born on April 25, 1873 and died June 5, 1957. She was founder of the first Danish school of home economics in 1895 and later the first Danish teacher training college of home economics and housekeeping, Ankerhus. She also became a front figure in the so-called ‘Home Economics and Housekeeping Movement’ in Denmark, and thus stands as a pioneering woman in women´s adult education in Denmark.
Magdalene was fighting for the improvement of the educational conditions and opportunities of women in farming and outside the urban middle classes.
She became active in politics and initiated the Association of Teachers in Housekeeping and Home Economics, later also the Danish Home Economics and Housekeeping Movement, which soon became active in representing the women’s movement in local politics and fighting for women’s education and rights. She had a lifelong and significant career and received several medals for her work.