Landes, Bertha Knight, 1868-1943

Bertha Ethel Knight Landes (October 19, 1868 – November 29, 1943) was the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1926 to 1928. After years of civic activism, primarily with women's organizations, she was elected to the Seattle City Council in 1922 and became council president in 1924.

Born Bertha Ethel Knight in Ware, Massachusetts, she attended Dix Street School and Classical High School in Worcester, Massachusetts before moving to Bloomington, Indiana to attend Indiana University. After three years of teaching at her alma mater, the Classical High School in Worcester, she married geologist Henry Landes on January 2, 1894; the following year, she moved with her husband to Seattle, Washington. In Seattle, Landes was active in women's organizations, including the Women's University Club, the Rainier Club, and the Women's Auxiliary of University Congregational Church. She was a member of the influential Women's Century Club and served as president of the Washington State chapter of the League of Women Voters.

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