Era: Interwar

In nearly a century of activity in the field of economics, the Foundation initiated new research centers and training programs around the world.

What began as a philanthropic fund to honor its namesake became an early force in the social sciences.

A new organization played an important part in assisting the Rockefeller Foundation by assembling cooperative studies on the issues of the day.

When Dr. Katherine Bement Davis was named general secretary of the Bureau in 1917, her appointment transformed the organization to take into deeper account women’s sexuality.

Incorporated in 1923 with funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the IEB built a major scientific network in Europe and the US in only five years.

A massive program in nursing education extended to 53 schools across the globe. But it never became a top priority of the foundation that supported it.

Orson Welles’s 1938 radio performance of The War of the Worlds prompted a foundation to explore issues of media literacy and fake news.