Hooker, Edith Houghton, 1879-1948

Edith Houghton Hooker (December 29, 1879, Buffalo, NY – October 23, 1948); member of the Houghton family; sister was Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn; neice, actress Katherine Hepburn; attended Bryn Mawr College, graduated 1901; enrolled at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; started a career in social work; married professor Donald Hooker, 1905; with husband, established Guild of St. George; joined the Equal Suffrage League of Baltimore, 1907; founded the Just Government League, affiliate of National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1909; established the Maryland Suffrage News, 1912; became editor of Suffragist, 1917; active in Congressional Union; inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 1999

Edith Houghton Hooker; born 29 Dec 1879, Buffalo, New York; died 23 Oct 1948; Baltimore, Maryland; American suffragist and social worker; leader of the suffrage movement in Maryland in the early twentieth century and was posthumously inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame

Edith Houghton Hooker was an important reformer of the 20th Century. Educated at Bryn Mawr College and subsequently at the Johns Hopkins Medical University, she was involved in the Progressive Party and Suffrage movement. Houghton also worked as a social worker, paying particular attention to unwed mothers and their children. Initially focused on gaining Maryland women the right to vote, Houghton switched her focus to federal recognition. Her somewhat radical behavior and provoking responses drew attention to the issue. After the 19th amendment was passed, she continued to fight for equal rights for women. Houghton died in 1948.

Edith Houghton married Donald Hooker in 1905 after meeting him at Johns Hopkins. The couple had 5 children.