List of people considered a founder in a humanities field

Those known as the father, mother, or considered a founder in a humanities field are those who have made important contributions to that field. In some fields several people are considered the founders, while in others the title of being the "father" is debatable.

Arts Subject Father / mother ReasonAbstract artHilma af KlintFor "[inventing] an abstract vocabulary blending biomorphic and geometric forms," that predates Wassily Kandisky.AnimationLotte Reiniger Margaret J. WinklerReiniger: For making The Adventures of Prince Achmed, "[t]he first full-length animation movie of film history." Winkler: For being "one of the earliest female producers of animation, with international hits like the cartoon, Felix the Cat." Anime Ōten ShimokawaJun'ichi KōuchiSeitaro KitayamaAustralian studio potteryWilliam Merric BoydCinematographyAlice Guy-BlachéFor being the first female film director and "among the first to employ techniques like close-ups, hand-tinted color, and synchronized sound. "DadaismBeatrice WoodFor her involvement in the movement, which stemmed from her enjoyment of, upon her own admission, "being subversive." Danish painting Nikolaj Abraham AbildgaardFashionCoco Chanel Jeanne Lanvin

Vivienne WestwoodChanel: For "revolutionizing how [people] dress, she helped form a new ideal of what a fashion brand could be." Lanvin: for founding "one of the oldest French fashion houses in operation today," through which she popularized the robe de style dress.

Westwood: For "[selling] the customised Teddy Boy threads that developed into punk... [and with her 1981 Pirate collection changing] the way people looked...[and creating] a new language of clothes."Modern fashion photographyNorman ParkinsonFor taking his models and photoshoots beyond the confines of the studio.Modern French cookingEugénie BrazierFor her Lyonnaise-style of cooking, becoming the first woman to ever hold three Michelin stars and at age 38, the first individual to hold six simultaneously, a record that lasted for 65 years until 1998, which led Curnonsky to deem her as "the greatest chef in the world." French New Wave cinema Agnès VardaFor "directing celebrated films including Cléo from 5 to 7, Happiness and The Creatures." Gothic architecture Abbot SugerBuilt the first Gothic church at the Abbey of St DennisHarlem Renaissance (sculpture)Augusta SavageFor being "a talented sculptor in her own right, [as well as] the first African American wom[a]n to open her own art gallery, the ‘Salon of Contemporary Negro Art’." Manga Osamu Tezuka Oil painting Jan van Eyckhttp://webexhibits.org/hockneyoptics/post/stork8.html . "that van Eyck—"the father of oil painting"—exploited the new medium and his own patient talent to paint Arnolfini by traditional methods."For experimenting with the medium to remarkable effect Photojournalism Mathew Brady Pop art Richard HamiltonNew Puerto Rican cuisineAlfredo Ayala"[F]or being the manager of a new local gastronomic movement in times of ‘nouvelle cuisine’, which sought to exalt the richness of Puerto Rican cuisine to position it in haute cuisine,"..."[becoming] the best ambassador of the island." Scottish country dancing Francis PeacockSpanish cuisinePenelope CasasCasas: For "demonstrating the breadth of regional Spanish cuisine." Mestayer: For being "[a] woman ahead of her time who had to fight against the social prejudices of a classist Spain and faced a civil war from the kitchens." Stop-motion clay animation Art Clokey Surrealism André Breton Dorothea Tanning

Communication Subject Father / mother ReasonPublic RelationsEdward BernaysAuthor of the book Crystalizing Public Opinion and creator of the Torches of Freedom advertising campaign. Spam Gary Thuerk Penned the first message that advertised the availability of a new model of Digital Equipment Corporation computers to 393 recipients on ARPANET in 1978.At 30, Spam Going Nowhere Soon – Interviews with Gary Thuerk and Joel Furr

Education Subject Father / motherLife span ReasonAfghan educationSakena Yacoobi(born 1949 or 1950)For her work through the Afghan Institute of Learning, which "works...to empower women and bring education and health services to poor women and girls in rural and urban areas, serving hundreds of thousands of women and children a year." American education Mary McLeod Bethune Horace Mann(1875–1955) (1796–1859) Bethune: For her "high standards and...[demonstration] of what educated African Americans could do," through her school, which later became Bethune–Cookman University. Mann: Advocated for common schools and nonsectarian education.American Catholic educationMary Elizabeth Lange( 1789–1882)For founding the first Catholic school in the United States for children of color as well as the first religious community of women of African-American descent.Argentinian educationDomingo Faustino Sarmiento Juana Paula Manso(1811–1888) (1819–1875)Sarmiento: For improving the country's education system. Manso: For educating women and advocating for their equal education.Costa Rican educationCarmen Lyra(1888–1949)For founding the Escuela Maternal ('maternal school'), the first Montessori school in Costa Rica in 1925.Dominican educationSalomé Ureña(1850–1898)For founding "the Instituto de Señoritas ('young ladies' institute'), which became the first center devoted exclusively to the training of teachers," in the Dominican Republic and called as such by Chiqui Vicioso.Japanese language education in RomaniaAngela HondruStill living"[F]or her role in saving Japanese studies from extinction in her country in the 1970s and for her more than 30 years of dedication to the field since then."Namibian educationOttilie Abrahams(1937–2018)For "[forming] the Namibian National Nationhood Programme, a consortium of NGOs working in the areas of education and agro-ecology."Nicaraguan educationJosefa Toledo de Aguerri(1866–1962)"[F]or her work as a teacher of generations," educating Pinolero children as the "future citizens...[of] tomorrow who will integrate the collectivity of the nation.”Paraguayan educationRosa Peña Guanes(1843–1899)For founding twenty-four girls' schools and the National Asylum in Paraguay.Early education in PeruEmilia Barcia Boniffatti(1904–1986)For founding the first preschool in the Peruvian Amazonia.Puerto Rican educationJaime Benítez Rexach Celestina CorderoRafael Cordero(1908–2001) (1787–1862)

(1790–1868)Benítez: Called as such by Herman Badillo for "there [being] no man in this country who has done more to bring up the level of educational opportunities to poor people than [him]." Celestina: For founding the first school for girls in Puerto Rico.

Rafael: For providing free schooling to the children, regardless of race or social standing.Saudi Arabian educationIffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan(1916– 2000)For founding "the Taif model school and the first girl's college in Saudi Arabia."Tampa educationElecta Lee(1808–1870)For "[opening] what is believed to be the first local school," in Tampa.Washington D. C. educationMyrtilla Miner(1815–1864)For "providing a quality education for all children in the District of Columbia regardless of race, creed or class," through her Normal School for Colored Girls, which later became the University of the District of Columbia.Western Cape educationHelen Zille(born 1951)For her "hands-on approach" tenure as Western Cape MEC for Education.

History Subject Father / mother ReasonAfrican-American historyArturo Alfonso SchomburgFor his "[research and raising] awareness of the great contributions that Afro-Latin Americans and African Americans have made to society,...[being] an important intellectual figure in the Harlem Renaissance [and, over] the years, [collecting] literature, art, slave narratives, and other materials of African history, which were purchased to become the basis of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, named in his honor, at the New York Public Library (NYPL) branch in Harlem.Black historyCarter G. WoodsonA founder of The Journal of Negro History in 1916. Ecclesiastical history Eusebius of Caesarea Because of his work in recording the history of the early Christian church English history BedeEcclesiastical History of the English People French history André Duchesne Historiography Ibn KhaldunS. Ahmed (1999). A Dictionary of Muslim Names. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. . Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) (1377) History HerodotusCicero, De legibus I,5.Thucydides The HistoriesHistory of the Peloponnesian War History of science George Sarton Founded Isis (1912) and wrote Introduction to the History of Science (1927) Modern history Leonardo BruniJames Hankins (ed.). History of the Florentine People, See "Editor Introduction". Philosophy of history Ibn Khaldun Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) (1377) Public administration Woodrow WilsonBragdon (1967), Woodrow Wilson: The Academic Years "The Study of Administration" in Political Science Quarterly, June 1887.Puerto Rican historySalvador Brau Alejandro Tapia y Rivera

Justice Subject Father / mother Reason Criminal identification Alphonse BertillonCreated a database for criminalsFingerprintingJuan Vucetic

Language and literature Subject Father / mother ReasonModern African literatureFlora NwapaFor "[setting] the stage for the emergence of female writers in Nigeria and other African countries," by being "the first African woman to publish a book in English." American folklore Richard DorsonNichols, Amber M. Richard M. Dorson . Minnesota State University, Mankato eMuseum. URL accessed April 21, 2006. American literature Mark TwainWilliam Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature". Ralph Waldo Emerson Mark Twain is often attributed to being one of the first authors to write in American vernacular and address major issues such as race and slavery, particularly through the wilted of southern Americans. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with beginning the nation's literary renaissance and original philosophical ideas with Transcendentalism.American novelSusanna RowsonFor writing one of the "best-selling novels of the time...Charlotte, A Tale of Truth."Canadian Indigenous literatureE. Pauline JohnsonFor "her impact of Indigenous writers" due in part to "[writing] a critique of the treatment of First Nations women in her article: "A Strong Race Opinion: the Indian Girl in Modern Fiction," in which she protested the obvious racism in the novels about First Nations women."Canadian literatureMargaret Atwood Margaret LaurenceAtwood: For "[seeming] capable of embracing and exposing the truth of the darkness that lurks in the shadows of our world[, s]he and her work are as relevant as ever." Laurence: For "having given eloquent voice to the Manitoba prairie in her “Manawaka” series, [as well as speaking] for the tribes of all humankind—women, the old, and the oppressed everywhere."Canadian poetryIsabella Valancy CrawfordFor being the first to attempt the "arduous intellectual journey," that "her verse [must trek the wide] distance to be traversed from the servile copy to the work which, though it may originate in a fertile hint of method or suggestion of thought in some foreign source, is still the authentic utterance of a single mind."Costa Rican poetryEunice OdioFor being "the country’s most significant international literary presence." English literature Geoffrey Chaucer Frances BurneyChaucer: For writing The Canterbury Tales.