Bellissima Magazine
March Issue
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Ellen Browning Scripps and Her Legacy in San Diego
Anyone who lives in San Diego is familiar with the Scripps name --
Scripps Ranch, Scripps Health, the Scripps Research Institute, and the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to name a few. These and many other notable San Diego sites and institutions, were named for one dynamic family who had a tremendous impact on the region more than 100 years ago. Perhaps most known, Ellen Browning Scripps, was one of the country's most notable philanthropists. She was featured on the cover of Time
Magazine in 1926, where she was described as the "most beloved woman in Southern California." Her philanthropy made possible the establishment of numerous major health, educational and cultural institutions, not only in San Diego, but throughout the state of California. Scripps' philanthropy dollars are said to have totaled in the millions.
She specifically instructed her attorney to keep no list of her contributions. One of her nephews wrote a thesis about her that attempts to reconstruct all of the institutions she supported, but since no master list was kept, we can't be sure that any list is complete. Regardless, what is certain about Ellen Browning Scripps is that she
had perhaps the greatest philanthropic impact on San Diego.
HUMANITY, NATURE AND MEDICNE
Ellen gave generously to projects that stimulated her intellect as well as her love of humanity, nature and medicine. Colleges and schools, hospitals, research institutions, churches of many denominations, and private individuals were recipients of her generosity. The Natural History Museum, The La Jolla Public Library, Scripps College, The Anthenaeum Music and Arts Library, La Jolla High School, Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School, The Children's Pool in La Jolla, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Field, Young Men's and Young Women's Christian associations, Scripps Memorial Hospital and Clinic, the San Diego Community Welfare Building, and The Scripps Institution of Oceanography were all benefactors of what Ellen called her "investments". Her love of nature resulted in the world's largest aviary at the San Diego Zoo. And to protect the rare Torrey Pine Tree for future generations, Ellen purchased a tract of land and gave it to the state with the provision that the parcel, now known as Torrey Pines State Park, remain undeveloped forever. But to understand her life as a philanthropist, it is important to understand where she came from.
Ellen Browning Scripps was born in London on October 18, 1836, the daughter of a bookbinder from an otherwise distinguished family of printers and intellectuals. Her father was twice widowed in England and emigrated with his six children to Rushville, Illinois in 1844 where he established a farm, now a park. He married again and had five additional children.
The family's farmhouse was small and crowded. Ellen was fond of reading and her father owned some valuable volumes, which she kept under her mattress where they would be safe from the younger children. Ellen taught school to save the money to attend Knox College, not far from the family's farm. While in college, she witnessed one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates which inspired an interest in politics and free speech. Her lifelong dedication to giving began with volunteer work and charitable activities during the Civil War for the Freedman's Association.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Though earning meager wages, Ellen lived frugally and managed to save enough money to invest in the Detroit News, an innovative newspaper for the workingman, founded by her brother James Edmund Scripps (1835-1906).
While in her forties, she joined James in Detroit and began working on the paper as proofreader, copy editor and writer. She persuaded a reluctant James to take their younger brother, Edward Wyllis Scripps
(E.W. Scripps, 1856-1926) into the business and soon after, invested in Edward's own newspaper chain, and eventually owned substantial stock in his company.
E.W. Scripps introduced innovative practices to the newspaper business such as providing suburban circulation. He also pioneered the idea of charging the bulk of production costs to advertisers, rather than subscribers. The Scripps newspapers adopted a democratic outlook and down-to-earth editorial style. These new publishing concepts attracted an increasingly literate American working class and the growth of these enterprises made the family millions.
Ellen's private life revolved around her family. She lived with her brother James and older relatives. In 1881, when her brother E.W. fell ill from too much work and drink, Ellen traveled throughout Europe and
North Africa with him and helped him recover his health.
BENEFITTING SAN DIEGO
In 1891, Ellen moved to San Diego with E.W. and his family. She was then in her sixties with an independent fortune, and for the first time in her life, she established her own home in La Jolla in 1897, together with her sister, Virginia Scripps (1852-1921).
Living modestly and never having married, Ellen accumulated a notable fortune on her own. In 1900, her bachelor brother, George Henry
Scripps (1839-1900), died leaving her stock in the Cleveland Press.
Ellen decided to use this legacy, totaling approximately $600,000, to honor her brother, a yachtsman with scientific interests. It was this money, and her interest in science, that led Ellen Browning Scripps to found The Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
In 1924, while recovering from a broken hip, Ellen became determined to build the finest hospital she could in San Diego. Scripps Memorial
Hospital was founded on a site on Prospect Street in La Jolla until 1964 when it relocated to its current site on Genessee Avenue. That same year, she also founded Scripps Metabolic Clinic (now Scripps Clinic).
Ellen had great curiosity about all that was occurring in the world, which stimulated her love of learning. At 90 years of age, she dedicated her wealth and personal support to her vision for a special place of learning, ideally suited to educate women. She combined her interest in education and women's issues by funding Scripps College, which opened its doors in 1926 in Claremont, California. Ellen's vision of educating women for professional careers and lifelong intellectual growth is still a commitment of the College today.
PARTNERS IN GIVING
In her public philanthropy, Ellen formed friendships and partnerships with other women. Two of the most notable were women physicians, Dr.
Mary Ritter, the wife of the first director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Dr. Charlotte Baker.
Dr. Ritter's philanthropic interests included clean water and sanitation, science education, and women's suffrage. Dr. Baker was politically active and became the first woman president of the San Diego County Medical Society. Her philanthropic interests included orphanages and new hospitals. Both women supplied Ellen Browning
Scripps with information about the community and provided their suggestions for community projects in need of investment. When Ellen decided to build the La Jolla Women's Club, she turned to Mary Ritter to supervise the construction. When she decided to fund a hospital, she discussed building and staffing needs with Charlotte Baker.
This relationship strengthened all three women. Ellen had eyes in the community. Drs. Baker and Ritter gained the prestige of being known as friends of a wealthy philanthropist. Their husbands and brothers often got the credit for their good work, and deflected criticism of their most progressive charities. This enabled a great amount of work to be accomplished efficiently and quietly.
A WOMAN OF PRINCIPLE
Ellen's principles were steadfast. She believed in education, free speech, women's suffrage, science, temperance, and world peace. She hated discrimination and privilege. Her public philanthropy was built on those principles. She treated her gifts in a very businesslike way.
She disliked the word "philanthropist" and instead referred to her gifts as investments. She supported women's clubs because she felt that women needed a forum to discuss issues of public policy once they had the right to vote.
Ellen's diaries are filled with detailed notes about her philanthropy.
She was not impulsive and she was not sentimental about giving. She chose causes or institutions she found deserving of her support, set the level of her gift, and stuck to her decision. Since no public record was kept of her gifts, the entirety of her philanthropy will probably never be known.
Ellen was admired for her extreme selflessness. Her brother, E.W.
Scripps once said that she had been so poor in her youth that she was unable to feel rich. Her friends once chided her for dining on a single potato on the cook's night out, and she replied, "No one needs less to eat than I." Her brother, E.W., often pledged gifts in her name. She provided the money, but he got the public credit. And that suited them both.
Ellen Browning Scripps, perhaps the most respected woman in San Diego
history, died in La Jolla on August 3, 1932.
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