Anna Howard Shaw

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in 1847, she moved to the United States as a child and grew up in Michigan. Drawn early to preaching, she went on to become one of the first women ordained as a Methodist minister in the United States, and she also earned a medical degree from Boston University.

Shaw became one of the best-known public voices in the woman suffrage movement. A gifted lecturer and organizer, she worked closely with leaders including Susan B. Anthony and later served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, helping guide the movement during crucial years before the Nineteenth Amendment.

Remembered for her energy, wit, and determination, she built a public career at a time when women faced steep barriers in both religion and professional life. She died in 1919, just before the constitutional victory she had worked so hard to advance.