Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood

Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood

First Woman to Argue in Front of the Supreme Court 

(October 24, 1830 – May 19, 1917) Belva Anne Bennett Lockwood was an American attorney, politician, educator, and author. She was active in working for women's rights. The press of her day referred to her as a "suffragist," someone who believed in women's suffrage or voting rights. Lockwood overcame many social and personal obstacles related to gender restrictions. After college, she became a teacher and principal, working to equalize pay for women in education. She supported the movement for world peace, and was a proponent of temperance.

Lockwood graduated from law school in Washington, D.C. and became one of the first female lawyers in the United States. In 1879, she successfully petitioned Congress to be allowed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first woman attorney given this privilege. Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots, doing so before she herself could vote.

 Side note: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the forward for a biography about Lockwood published in 2007. (http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/ruth-bader-ginsburg-on-lockwood-and.html)