Octavia Irene Hall Smillie (August 30, 1889 – December 2, 1970) was an American dietitian. She was chief dietitian at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...

in Boston, and president of 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 ...

from 1922 to 1924.

Early life and education

Smillie was born in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, the daughter of Edward L. Hall and Addie (or Ada) Loomis Hall. She graduated from

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

in 1913.

Career

Smillie taught music in Colorado as a young woman. She was head dietitian at Boston's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital when she started the hospital's nutrition clinic in 1921. She was elected to a two-year term as president of the American Dietetic Association in 1922, succeeding

Mary deGarmo Bryan Mary deGarmo Bryan (August 1891 – May 12, 1986) was an American dietician and professor at Columbia University and served as the second president of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). She helped pioneer the federal school National Lunch P ...

. She presided over the association's 1923 annual meeting in Indianapolis and the 1924 annual meeting in Boston. Under her leadership, the association established a permanent central office. In her later years, Smillie was active in the Massachusetts Dietetic Association, trained

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

dietitian aides during

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 ...

, and traveled with her husband, an epidemiologist who established a school of public health in Brazil.

Personal life

In 1919, Octavia Hall became the second wife of widowed physician and Harvard Medical School professor Wilson George Smillie. They raised four children together, including two children from his first marriage. The Smillies retired to

Newfane, Vermont Newfane is the shire town (county seat) of Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Newfane, Williamsville, and South Newfane. History One of the New Hampshire gra ...

in 1958, and ran a sheep farm. She died in 1970, at the age of 81, in Vermont.

References

External links

*Kathleen Marie Scott
"Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics"
(Ph.D. dissertation, College of William and Mary, 2009). 1889 births 1970 deaths American dietitians {{Authority control Colorado College alumni