  emily greene balch (january 8, 1867 â january 9, 1961) was an american economist and writer. she became a quaker and won the nobel peace prize in 1946 for her work with the women's international league for peace and freedom (wilpf). balch combined an academic career at wellesley college with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty child labor and immigration, as well as settlement work to uplift poor immigrants and reduce juvenile delinquency. she moved into the peace movement at the start of the world war i in 1914, and began collaborating with jane addams of chicago. she refused to support the war effort when the united states entered the war in 1917, and lost her professorship at wellesley college. in 1919 balch played a central role in the international congress of women. it changed its name to the women's international league for peace and freedom, and was based in geneva. she served the league as its first international secretary-treasurer, administering the organization's activities. she helped set up summer schools on peace education, and created new branches in over 50 countries. she cooperated with the newly established league of nations regarding drug control, aviation, refugees, and disarmament. in world war ii, she favored allied victory and did not criticize the war effort, but did support the rights of conscientious objectors.suzanne niemeyer, editor, research guide to american historical biography: vol. iv (1990) pp 1806â1814 ==biography== emily greene balch was born in the jamaica plain neighborhood of boston into an affluent family. in 1889 she was among the first graduates of bryn mawr college. she continued to study sociology and economics in europe and the united states. in 1896, she joined the faculty of wellesley college, becoming a full professor of economics and sociology in 1913. during world war i, she helped to found the wilpf and campaigned against the united states' entry into the conflict. when her contract was terminated by wellesley because of her pacifist activities, balch became an editor of the nation, a well-known liberal news magazine. balch converted from unitarianism and became a quaker in 1921. she also served as the secretary of the wilpf (a second term in 1934 during the great depression without salary for a year and a half), and did much work for the league of nations. after getting the nobel peace prize in 1946, she nominated [[maha
1867_births 1961_deaths American_Christian_pacifists American_Nobel_laureates American_Quakers American_anti-war_activists American_antiaWorld_War_I_activists American_economists American_magazine_editors Bryn_Mawr_College_alumni Converts_to_Quakerism Nobel_Peace_Prize_laureates People_from_Boston,_Massachusetts Wellesley_College_faculty Women_Nobel_laureates Women_economists Women_sociologists