Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973)

Jeannette Pickering Rankin was one of six children born to a ranching family near Missoula, Montana. She grew up helping with the men's chores and attending local schools. In 1902, she graduated with a degree in biology from the University of Montana. She went to New York City, where she studied at the New York School of Philanthropy, part of Columbia University (now the New York School of Social Work), and trained as a social worker. She visited New Zealand in 1915 and worked as a seamstress in order to gain personal knowledge of the social conditions of workers. Back in the USA, Ms. Rankin became an organizer for the women's suffrage campaign. She was named a lobbyist for the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1914, helping to win the vote for women in Washington state and Montana before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Her brother, a powerful Republican in Montana, managed her first political campaign in 1916, when she became the first woman elected to Congress. Ms. Rankin served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. After she left, Ms. Rankin resumed ranching and travelling, and gave public lectures. She was a committed pacifist in both World Wars, and led marches against U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s.