Younghusband, Eileen Louise (1902–1981)

English social worker and teacher. Name variations: Dame Eileen Younghusband. Born on January 1, 1902, in London, England; died on May 27, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina, from injuries sustained in a car accident; daughter of Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (a diplomat-explorer); educated privately; attended London School of Economics.

Born in London in 1902, the daughter of a diplomat, Eileen Louise Younghusband was raised in Kashmir, India, and privately educated. She then attended the London School of Economics, where she became a tutor in 1929 and a lecturer in 1933. Younghusband developed the school's first applied studies course to train professional social workers. Following a disagreement over methodology in 1957, she resigned to work extensively in juvenile courts and to prepare reports as a police analyst. Her investigations into welfare needs and the training of social workers led to the establishment of the Council for Training in Social Work. She also served as a consultant to the National Institute for Social Work Training, as president of the International Association for Schools of Social Work, and as principal officer for the National Association of Girls' Clubs. Younghusband traveled and lectured on social work in India, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. She also worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (a wartime alliance, not related to the United Nations). In addition to these activities, Younghusband was the author of such works as Social Work in Britain, 1950–1975 and Social Work and Social Change.

Younghusband was made a Member, Commander, and Dame of the Order of the British Empire in 1946, 1955, and 1964, respectively. Recipient of several honorary degrees, she was named a fellow of the London School of Economics in 1961. In 1976, she was awarded the René Sand Prize. Younghusband was killed in a car accident on May 27, 1981, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

sources:

The Concise Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Contemporary Authors. Vol. 108. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1983.

Margaret A. Zakem , freelance writer, Plymouth, Michigan