Ellen Browning Scripps

Early life

Born in London and raised in Rushville, Illinois, Ellen Browning Scripps was an avid reader and learner at an early age. In 1855, a year before attending college, she was granted a teaching certificate and started teaching in Schuyler County, IL. She was the only one of her ten siblings to attend college, studying science and mathematics at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, one of the few educational institutions to admit women. She graduated in 1859 with a certificate from the Female Collegiate Department and honors in mathematics. Afterwards, she returned to Rushville, Illinois, to teach in a one-room schoolhouse.

Ellen Browning Scripps was born on October 18, 1836, on South Molton St. in St. George Parish, London. Her father, James Mogg Scripps (1803–1873), was the youngest of six children born to London publisher William Armiger Scripps (1772–1851) and Mary Dixie (1771–1838). He was apprenticed to Charles Lewis, the leading bookbinder of London, where he learned the trade. James married his cousin Elizabeth Sabey in 1829, and they had two children; only one of them lived to maturity, Elizabeth Mary (1831–1914), and Elizabeth Sabey Scripps died the day after the latter's birth. Two years later, James Mogg married Ellen Mary Saunders; they had six children, five of whom lived to adulthood: James E. Scripps (1835–1906), Ellen Browning (1836–1932), William Arminger (1838–1914), George Henry (1839–1900) and John Mogg (1840–1863). Ellen Mary Scripps died of breast cancer in 1841.

After the failure of his bookbinding shop and the death of his second wife, James Mogg emigrated to the United States with his six children in April 1844. They headed to Rushville, Illinois, where other members of the Scripps family owned property. James Mogg married his third wife Julia Osborn in November 1844; they had five children: Julia Anne (1847–1898), Thomas Osborn (1848–53), Frederick Tudor (1850–1936), Eliza Virginia (1852–1921), and Edward Willis (1854–1926), the well-known newspaper tycoon and founder of The E.W. Scripps Company.

Wealth

Ellen Browning Scripps made a fortune by investing in E.W. Scripps's growing chain of newspapers in the West. In 1894, E.W. formed a partnership with Milton A. McRae, who had risen through the ranks to become one of Scripps's top lieutenants. George H. Scripps joined the partnership in 1895. The group managed The Cincinnati Post, The Cleveland Press, The St. Louis Chronicle, The Toledo News-Bee, and the Kansas City Star. They also acquired newspapers in Memphis, Oklahoma City, Evansville, Terre Haute, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, and Houston.

In the late 1890s, E.W. began to acquire papers in California, including The Los Angeles Record, The San Diego Sun, and The San Francisco News. In the Pacific Northwest, the growing profitability of working-class newspapers led to the development of The Seattle Star, The Spokane Press, The Tacoma Times, and The Portland News, all pitched to dock workers, miners, lumbermen, and cannery workers. By 1905, E.W. estimated that profits on "my little Western papers" were many times greater than those of his Eastern ones.

Ellen Scripps gained a substantial legacy from her brother George H. Scripps who died in 1900, leaving behind a will described as "a legacy of hate". He gave his shares of Evening News stock to E.W., whom James E. Scripps considered his nemesis. Ellen, meanwhile, received George's shares of the Scripps Publishing Co. This led to an eleven-year legal battle that E.W. and Ellen ultimately won.

Interested in science and education, Ellen Browning Scripps donated the bulk of her fortune to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1903), The Bishop's School (1909), and the Scripps College (1929) in Claremont, California.

She supported community initiatives such as the La Jolla Women's Club and the La Jolla Recreational Center and contributed financially to improvement projects in the coastal area such as The Children's Pool. La Jolla Park was renamed Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park in 1927 to honor her many gifts to La Jolla.

Her interest in the science of health led her to support Scripps Memorial Hospital, now Scripps Health, and the Scripps Metabolic Clinic, now Scripps Research.

Scripps funded many wildlife preservation and education initiatives, including the San Diego Zoo and Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. She also provided support for wildlife books such as including William Leon Dawson's Birds of California.

From the 1920s, Scripps was the major benefactor of the San Diego Natural History Museum, financing its building and education programs. In 1933, the Scripps estate donated over 1,000 watercolor paintings of California wildflowers by A.R. Valentien to the museum.

Over 2500 books of her library's book collection were donated to the Claremont Colleges where they can now be accessed from the Claremont Colleges Library and Denison Library.

The New York Times estimated that, during her lifetime, she gave gifts and donations to charitable causes that totaled more than $2 million, a conservative estimate equivalent to $47,195,000 in 2025 dollars.

Although Scripps garnered much public attention from her philanthropic projects, she avoided publicizing her gifts and drawing attention to herself, since "publicity is distasteful to Miss Scripps.