eugenicist

Not sure who she was....she wasn't the blues singer and she wasn't the Katherine Davis who wrote "The Little Drummer Boy", so I give up.

Eugenicist, warden of a women's prison, and first director of New York City's Bureau of Social Hygiene: "The Bureau of Social Hygiene grew out of the appointment of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to a special grand jury investigation of the white slave trade in New York in 1910. Rockefeller served as foreman for this investigation, which was scheduled to last for one month. He kept the investigation going for six months and in the end released a detailed report calling for a permanent commission to investigate "social evil… in the leading cities of this country and Europe…."(1) When the mayor refused to set up such a commission, JDR Jr. decided to do it himself. (2) He interviewed over a hundred educators, intellectuals and businessmen about the project. On March 22, 1911, the Committee of Three (JDR Jr., Paul Warburg and Starr Murphy) met and organized the Bureau of Social Hygiene. The name was first used in October 1911, although the organization was not formally incorporated until 1913.(3) KATHERINE B. DAVIS, former commissioner of Charities and Correction of New York and superintendent of the Bedford Hills Reformatory for Women, was chosen as the first general secretary.(4) The purpose of the Bureau was 'the study, amelioration, and prevention of those social conditions, crimes, and diseases which adversely affect the well being of society….'" The full article expands on the pseudoscience and slipshod analytical methods of Eugenics devotees: www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/othersrv/isar/archives2/sources/bsh.htm

Another Bain/LOC portrait of Katherine Davs:

Dr. Davis assumed her position as New York's Commissioner of Corrections on January 1, 1914, and the Bain News Agency immediately circulated photos of her actively performing her duties:

magical portrait %_%

Dr. Katharine Bement Davis See other LOC photos and information here.  

She took office as New York City's Commissioner of Corrections on January 1, 1914. Several Bain/LOC photos taken soon after that date show her as active in the performance of her duties:

Bain/LOC photos circulated by the Bain News Agency soon after the announcement of her appointment by Mayor-Elect John Purroy Mitchel:

great shot.

Katharine Bement Davis (1860-1935) www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6376300

Blackwell's Island has had many names, here's a brief history of the island www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/ it appears they are at the penitentiary Dr Katherine Davis was the Commissioner of Corrections and there were investigations regarding the treatment of prisoners (quite common across the country as society was in a period of analyzing punishment vs rehabilitation) here is a report on her achievements 4 months into her term query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9505E5DC143AE6...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell's_Island en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Bement_Davis

More Bain/LOC photos of NYC Corrections Commissioner Katharine Bement Davis, newly posted. (She took office on January 1, 1914, and the photos show her in action soon after.):

Thanks to all of you for filling in the name of this important woman. We'll add the information the next time we update the record.

Bain/LOC photos of Dr. Katharine Davis, posted earlier: