Thompson, Ruth, 1887-1970

Ruth Thompson (September 15, 1887 – April 5, 1970) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. A lawyer by profession, she served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1951 to 1957.

Born in Whitehall, Michigan, she graduated from Muskegon Business College of nearby Muskegon in 1905. Beginning in 1918, she worked in a law office and studied law in night school for six years before she was admitted to the bar in 1924, becoming the first female lawyer in Muskegon County. She also served as the registrar of the county’s probate court for 18 years. Thompson was elected judge of probate in Muskegon County in 1925, a position she held for 12 years. In 1938 she won election to a term in the Michigan state house of representatives as one of the state’s first female legislators. From 1941 to 1942, Thompson worked for the Social Security Board’s Old Age and Survivor’s Insurance Division in Washington, DC. She then worked for three years in the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. In 1945, Thompson went to Headquarters Command of U.S. occupation forces in Frankfurt, Germany, and Copenhagen, Denmark, where she worked on the adjutant general’s staff. A year later, she returned to private law practice in Michigan.

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