It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness
—Chinese proverb
Dr. Ethel Thurston
The founding trustee and a board member of the American Fund for Alternatives to Animal Research (AFAAR), Ethel Thurston, PH.D. was a protector of animals from an early age. As a child, she saw many examples of animal abuse and cruelty and vowed to do all she could to ease animals’ misery. This promise to help animals was reinforced when her family lived within hearing distance of a slaughterhouse in a small Berkshire farming community.
Dr. Thurston studied organ music and composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger and later served for many years as Chair of the Department of Music History at the Manhattan School of Music. Her prestigious music career included teaching positions at Vassar College in NY, Ecole Americain de Music in France, Bryn Mawr College in PA, and the Chairmanship of Music History at Manhattan School of Music.
Even during her academic career, Dr. Thurston remained devoted to helping animals. She assisted friends in England and studied the philosophy and strategies of the Lord Dowding Fund for Humane Research.
Dr. Thurston is universally recognized and admired as one of the first and leading supporters of non-animal testing methods.
—Theodora Capaldo, Ed.D., AFAAR Trustee & NEAVS President
Dr. Thurston worked closely with Lady Dowding, founder of English charitable trust and company Beauty Without Cruelty, which discouraged the wearing of fur and provided cruelty-free cosmetics and continues to operate to this day [www.beautywithoutcruelty.com]. After meeting Lady Dowding, Dr. Thurston went on to form sister organization Beauty Without Cruelty, Inc. in New York in 1973, a not-for-profit for “… the education of the public to use cruelty-free wearing apparel and beautifying products.”
In 1977, Dr. Thurston was instrumental in establishing AFAAR as a charitable trust dedicated to promoting and funding alternatives to animal experiments. “There are so many advanced possibilities in groups of human cell cultures, computer models and other alternatives,” she noted. Among the first funded projects was an alternative to the Draize rabbit eye test, which was later adopted by Colgate Palmolive.
On October 21, 2000, Dr. Thurston was honored by the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) with their prestigious Humane Achievement Award for her pioneering work in alternatives research and development. The award was given at a special ceremony in New York City attended by scientists and anti-vivisectionists from around the world.
Dr. Ethel Thurston died on January 4, 2005 at the age of 94.