Sophonisba Breckinridge

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Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge (April 1, 1866 - July 30, 1948), American activist. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, she was the daughter of William Breckinridge, a member of Congress from Kentucky and a lawyer. Her grandfather was John Breckinridge.

She graduated from Wellesley College in 1888 and worked as a school teacher in Washington, DC before studying law at her father's office. She later became the first woman to be admitted to the Kentucky bar. She was also the first woman to graduate from the law school of the University of Chicago.

"My record there was not distinguished", she wrote, "but the faculty and students were kind, and the fact that the law school, like the rest of the University...accepted men and women students on equal terms was publicly settled" ([1]).

She obtained an appointment as a part-time professor in the Department of Household Administration, and in 1907 became a resident of Hull House. As a resident of Hull House until 1920, she became active in several causes, including:

• Women's suffrage
• African-American civil rights (she helped establish the NAACP)
• Labor
• Progressive Party
• Pacifism

She wrote several books on family, public welfare, and children.

The University of Chicago currently houses undergraduate students in Breckinridge House, named after Sophonisba Breckinridge, where students celebrate "Sophie Day" on April 1.

[edit] Publications

The Delinquent Child and the Home (1912) Truancy and Non-Attendance in the Chicago Schools (1917) New Homes for Old (1921) Family Welfare Work in a Metropolitan Community (1924) Public Welfare Administration (1927) Women in the Twentieth Century (1933) The Family and the State (1934)

[edit] Organization Involvement

• National American Woman's Suffrage Association (Served as vice president)
• American Social Science Association (ASSA)
• National Conference of Social Workers (NCSW)
• American Association of Social Workers (AASW)
• Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy (CSCP)

[edit] Death

On July 30, 1948 Sophonisba Breckinridge died from a perforated ulcer and arteriosclerosis, aged 82,