Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947)

Carrie Chapman Catt, née Lane, was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, the second of three children of Lucius and Maria Lane. In 1866, after the end of the Civil War, the family moved to a farm near Charles City, Iowa. Carrie attended Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) and completed a bachelor’s degree in general science in 1880, the only woman in her graduating class. While at Iowa State, she became the first female student to give an oration before a debating society. She worked her way through school by washing dishes, teaching, and serving as a librarian’s assistant. After graduation, she worked as a law clerk, schoolteacher, and principal. In 1883, at the age of 24, she was appointed Mason City school superintendent, one of the first women to hold such a position. In 1885, she married Leo Chapman, publisher and editor of the Mason City Republican newspaper. The following year, her husband died of typhoid fever in San Francisco, California where he had gone to seek new employment. Arriving just a few days after his death, the young widow decided to remain in San Francisco, where she canvassed for ads and wrote freelance articles. In 1887, she moved back to Iowa and joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association. She went on to devote most of her life to the expansion of women’s rights around the world as well as international peace. She is recognized as one of the key leaders of the American women’s suffrage movement. Her superb oratory and organizational skills led to ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote in 1920.