Pyle, Gladys, 1890-1989

Gladys Shields Pyle (October 4, 1890 – March 14, 1989) was an American politician and the first woman elected to the United States Senate without having previously been appointed to her position. The first female senator to serve as a Republican, Pyle was also the first female senator from South Dakota.

Born in Huron, South Dakota, Pyle attended Huron College in her hometown, graduating with a liberal arts degree with a music emphasis in 1911. She moved to Chicago, taking graduate courses at the American Conservatory of Music and the University of Chicago before returning to Huron the following year, teaching high school until 1918 when she accepted a position as principal of a school in Wessington, South Dakota. Heavily influenced by her suffragist mother, Pyle was active with the local League of Women Voters, becoming a lecturer for the league.

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