Barbara Hulley Ackermann was born in Sweden, the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer. She was graduated from Smith College (1945) and later that year married Paul Kurt Ackermann, later a professor at Boston University. Her career has included editorial work, teaching English, and freelance writing. She was a member of the Cambridge (Mass.) School Committee (1962-1967) and of the Cambridge City Council (1968-1977), becoming the first woman mayor of Cambridge in 1972. In 1978 Ackermann ran for the Democratic nomination for governor against Edward J. King and incumbent Michael Dukakis, which King subsequently won. During the campaign Ackermann filed a suit in Suffolk Superior Court that claimed that Massachusetts General Law 55A, which made her ineligible for public financing for her campaign, was discriminatory on the basis of wealth and violated her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. She was unable to have the law suspended and, with the agreement of both parties, the case was dismissed.
From the description of Papers, 1978-1979 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232007165
