Myra Bradwell, born February 12, 1831, in Manchester, Vermont, and dying February 14, 1894, in Chicago, was an American publisher and legal reformer who attempted to become the first woman admitted to the Illinois bar. She founded and published the Chicago Legal News beginning in 1868, a journal covering legal proceedings that also conducted investigative reporting on judicial corruption. The Illinois Supreme Court denied her application to practice law in 1870 on account of her sex, and the United States Supreme Court upheld that denial in 1873 in Bradwell v. Illinois, with Justice Joseph P. Bradley writing separately that the natural timidity and delicacy of the female sex unfitted it for many civil occupations. Her case helped push the Illinois legislature to pass a law in 1872 barring exclusion from any occupation, profession or employment on account of sex, with an exception for military service. In 1890 the Illinois Supreme Court admitted her to the bar on its own motion, and the United States Supreme Court followed in 1892; she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.