Jane Addams
Activist
1860–1935
Jane Addams is perhaps best known as a suffragist, activist, and
founder of one of the nation’s first settlement houses, Hull-House.
She also addressed social issues such as child labor, public health
reform, labor laws, and race relations. She was the first American
woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for her activism
against war and violence. She may be very familiar to Chicagoans
since a portion of I90 is named after her.
She was also
a co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which
continues to fight on behalf of LGBTQ people today. Many would
regard her as the founder of the social work profession. When Addams
died in 1935, she was the best known female figure in the United
States.
According to her biography on the Chicago LGBTQ
Hall of Fame website, Jane Addams spent her adult years with other
women in long-term relationships that we would describe as lesbian
today.
Jane Addams founded Hull House with a romantic
partner by the name of Ellen Starr. The two met when they were
students at Rockford Female Seminary. Her second romantic partner
was Mary Rozet Smith, They remained together until 1934 when Mary
died of pneumonia, after 40 years together.