Emma Seifrit Weigley (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Seifrit; January 27, 1933 – April 18, 2020) was an American professor of

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

. Her husband was military historian

Russell Weigley Russell Frank Weigley ''(WY-glee)'' (July 2, 1930 – March 3, 2004) was the Distinguished University Professor of History at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a noted military historian. His research and teaching interests c ...

Early life

Emma Seifrit was born in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

. She graduated from

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1856 and had an enrollment of 1,652 students as of fall 2023. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when "Union Sem ...

in 1954. She completed doctoral studies in nutrition at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1971, with a thesis titled ''

Sarah Tyson Rorer Sarah Tyson Rorer (18 October 1849 – 27 December 1937) was an American food writer and pioneer in the field of domestic science. Rorer has been described as the first American dietitian. Biography She was born in Richboro, Pennsylvania, the ...

(1849-1937), a Biographical Study''.

Career

Emma Seifrit was a clinical instructor in nutrition at Reading Hospital after college, and won an essay award from the

American Dietetic Association The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is a multi-unit enterprise that includes a 501(c)(6) trade association in the United States. With over 112,000 members, the association claims to be the largest organization of food and nutrition professiona ...

in 1960. She taught home economics at Albright College and nutrition at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

; she was also an adjunct professor of nursing at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Publications by Weigley included "The High Fat Diet" (1963), "The Philadelphia Chef: Mastering the Art of Philadelphia Cookery" (1972), "'It might have been euthenics': The Lake Placid Conferences and the Home Economics Movement" (1974), "The Professionalization of Home Economics" (1976), ''Sarah Tyson Rorer: The Nation's Instructress in Dietetics and Cookery'' (1977), a biography based on her dissertation, "Infant Feeding Practices: A Century of Transitions" (1988), and ''Robinson's Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy'' (1997), a textbook. She also co-edited ''Essays on History of Nutrition and Dietetics'' (1967) with E. Neige Todhunter, a collection of essays published on the fiftieth anniversary of the

. The collection included her own essay, "Food in the days of the Declaration of Independence". Her collection of Sarah Tyson Rorer papers is housed at the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

library. She also wrote the article on Rorer for the ''

American National Biography The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Lea ...

.''

Personal life and death

Emma Seifrit married Russell Weigley in 1963. They had two children, Jared and Catherine. Her husband died in 2004. She died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

on April 18, 2020, at age 87. Weigley was one of the thousand names included in ''The New York Times'' cover story on May 24, 2020, " U.S. Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss".

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weigley, Emma 1933 births 2020 deaths People from Reading, Pennsylvania Albright College alumni Albright College faculty American dietitians Drexel University faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty American nutritionists Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania American biographers