Irene Barnes Taeuber (December 25, 1906 – February 24, 1974) was an American

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

who worked for the

Office of Population Research The Office of Population Research (OPR) at Princeton University is the oldest population research center in the United States. Founded in 1936, the OPR is a leading demographic research and training center. Recent research activity has primarily f ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where she edited the journal ''Population Index'' from 1936 to 1954... Her scholarly work is credited with helping to establish the science of

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

Life

Irene Barnes was born on December 25, 1906, in

Meadville, Missouri Meadville is a city in southwest Linn County, Missouri, United States. The population was 415 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Meadville has been in operation since 1869. The community was named for Charles Mead, superintendent ...

. She graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in 1927, earned a master's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

in 1928, and completed her doctorate in sociology from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1931. In 1929, while still a student, she married Conrad Taeuber; he and their children Richard and Karl would also become noted demographers. She took a faculty position at

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

in 1931, but in 1934 her husband joined the

Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progre ...

and she moved with him to

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. She began working on the journal ''Population Literature'' of the

Population Association of America The Population Association of America (PAA) is a non-profit scientific professional association dedicated to the study of issues related to population and demography. The PAA was established by Henry Pratt Fairchild and Frederick Osborn, with fun ...

; when its editor Frank Lorimer left the position in 1935, the journal moved to the Office of Population Research at

, where it became ''Population Index'', and she moved with it. She was initially a research associate there (part-time while her children were young), and was promoted to senior research demographer in 1961; she retired in 1973. She died on February 24, 1974, of pneumonia and emphysema.

Contributions

As well as her work on ''Population Index'', Taeuber directed the Census Library Project, a joint effort of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

and the

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, from 1942 to 1945. She also chaired committees on population and demography for the

Pacific Science Association The Pacific Science Association (PSA) is a regional, non-governmental, scholarly organization that seeks to advance science and technology in support of sustainable development in the Pacific Rim. It was founded in 1920 and its secretariat is bas ...

and

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

, and served as president of the

for 1953–1954. Taeuber wrote and edited many books and articles, totalling "a dozen influential books and book-length reports and some 250 articles and chapters.". But her most significant work was the book ''The Population of Japan'' (Princeton University Press, 1958). Nearly 500 pages long, this book is in seven sections. The first one gives a historical and sociological overview of Japanese life and culture, followed by sections on the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

and the modern era. Next follow sections on internal migrations, the Meiji-era expansion of the Japanese empire, the effects of fertility and mortality on the population, and a demographic view of the effects of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on Japan with an eye to future possibilities. This work "demonstrates the power of demographic analysis ... as an instrument for the description of social change". It was well-received in Japan, and a Japanese translation was published by the Mainichi Press.

Recognition

Taeuber was elected as a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

by the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

American Sociological Society The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fi ...

, and

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1839, and is the second-oldest continuous ...

(1960). She was given honorary doctorates by

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in 1960, and by the

Western College for Women Western College for Women, known at other times as Western Female Seminary and simply Western College, was a women's and later coed liberal arts college in Oxford, Ohio, between 1855 and 1974. Initially a seminary, it was the host of orientat ...

in 1965. The Universities of Missouri and Minnesota also awarded her accomplishments, as did the American Sociological Society, which gave her their Stuart. A. Rice Award in 1972. The Irene B. Taeuber Award for research achievements of the

is named in her honor.Award Criteria and Past Recipients: Irene B. Taeuber Award

, retrieved 2016-07-17.

References

External links

Taeuber, Irene B. (1906-1974), Papers, 1912-1981, C2158
at the

State Historical Society of Missouri The State Historical Society of Missouri, a private membership and state funded organization, is a comprehensive research facility located in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in the preservation and study of Missouri's cultural heritage. Estab ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taeuber, Irene Barnes 1906 births 1974 deaths People from Linn County, Missouri American demographers American women statisticians University of Missouri alumni Northwestern University alumni University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Mount Holyoke College faculty Princeton University staff Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Statistical Association American statisticians