Jane Addams (1860-1935)

“I am not one of those who believe – broadly speaking – that women are better than men. We have not wrecked railroads, nor corrupted legislatures, nor done many unholy things that men have done; but then we must remember that we have not had the chance.” – Jane Addams, 1897

Jane Addams was born in 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois, a small town a few miles north of Freeport in the northwest corner of the state.  Her father was a bank president, owner of a prosperous grain mill, and an Illinois state senator, and along with her stepmother he encouraged Jane to pursue her education and ambitions.

Among her many accomplishments, Jane Addams was the second woman to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, she co-founded Hull House in Chicago, and she was an outspoken feminist, pacifist, and social worker.

Two very good sources of information about Jane Addams are her Wikipedia page and her entry on the Women in History website.