Jane Addams

Born in Cedarville, Illinois, in 1860, Jane Addams became one of the most influential public thinkers and reformers of her era. In 1889, she and Ellen Gates Starr co-founded Hull House in Chicago, a settlement that offered education, childcare, cultural programs, and support for immigrant and working-class families.

Addams wrote with unusual clarity about poverty, democracy, and social responsibility, drawing on what she saw in city life rather than speaking from a distance. Her books, including Twenty Years at Hull-House, helped make her a widely read author as well as a major voice in the settlement house movement.

She was also a committed peace activist. In 1931, she shared the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming one of the first American women to receive it. She died in 1935, but her writing and reform work still shape conversations about community, justice, and public service.