Meta Berger (1873–1944)

Meta Berger, née Schlichting, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to German immigrant parents, and graduated from the Wisconsin State Normal School (now the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee). She taught primary school for three years. In 1897, she married Victor Berger, a socialist and politician who became the first socialist elected to Congress. In 1909, she was elected to the Milwaukee School Board, where she served for 30 years, pushing such progressive measures as playgrounds, school lunches, and medical exams for children, and tenure and pensions for teachers. This work led to her appointments to the Wisconsin State Board of Education and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. After her husband's death in 1929, she was selected to fill his seat on the Socialist Party's National Executive Committee, a rare event for a woman at that time. She also worked for numerous other reform organizations, including the peace and women's suffrage movements. Her autobiography was called A Milwaukee Woman's Life on the Left: The Autobiography of Meta Berger.