Ruth Forbes Young (October 4, 1903 – March 3, 1998) was a member of the

Forbes family The Forbes family is one of the components of the Boston Brahmins—a wealthy extended American family long prominent in Boston, Massachusetts. The family's fortune originates from trading opium and tea between North America and China in the 1 ...

and a founder of the International Peace Academy in 1970. She also co-founded Berkeley's Institute for the Study of Consciousness with her third husband, Arthur M. Young.

Background and family life

Forbes was a member of the Massachusetts

, being the daughter of Ralph Emerson Forbes and Elise Cabot. She was a great-granddaughter of

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

and a niece of

William Cameron Forbes William Cameron Forbes (May 21, 1870 – December 24, 1959) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He served as governor-general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 and ambassador of the United States to Japan from 1930 to 1932. Ear ...

(

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

1908 - 1913). Forbes married architect Lyman Paine in the mid-1920s; they moved together from Boston to New York, where Forbes' friend Mary Bancroft described them as hosting "wonderful parties in their West Side apartment". Forbes and Paine divorced in the 1930s after having two children, Cameron Paine and

Michael Paine Michael Ralph Paine (June 25, 1928 – March 1, 2018) was an American engineer who became notable after the John F. Kennedy assassination, assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as he was an acquaintance of Lee Harvey Oswald. His wife, Ruth ...

.Enid Nemy, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 15 March 1998
Ruth F. Young, 94, Founded An Academy to Promote Peace
/ref> A second marriage, in the early 1940s to Dr. Giles Thomas, was cut short by the latter's death. Forbes married Arthur M. Young in 1948.

Career

Forbes studied painting at the Arts Student League, and her still lifes and landscapes were exhibited in New York and Philadelphia. She produced ballets in Santa Barbara, designing sets and costumes herself.Andrea Loomis, arthuryoung.com
In Memoriam: Ruth Forbes Young, 1903-1998
/ref> Forbes joined the

World Federalist World federalism or global federalism is a political ideology advocating a democratic, federal world government. A world federation would have authority on issues of global reach, while the members of such a federation would retain authority ove ...

Movement after the dropping of atomic bombs in 1945. Later wanting to go beyond this, she consulted with United Nations Secretary-General

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

about setting up an international academy to support international diplomatic efforts towards peace. Thant recommended getting in touch with

Indar Jit Rikhye Major General Indar Jit Rikhye (30 July 1920 – 21 May 2007) was an Indian Army General, United Nations official, peace advocate and author. Rikhye served as part of UN Peace Keeping force and as a military adviser to the United Nations ...

, who went on to become the International Peace Academy first President. Forbes provided the Academy's initial funding, and continued to support it financially. In 1972 Forbes also co-founded Berkeley's Institute for the Study of Consciousness with her third husband, Arthur M. Young.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes Young, Ruth 1903 births 1998 deaths People from Milton, Massachusetts Ruth Ralph Waldo Emerson