On this day in 1932, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate, a Democrat representing Arkansas. She'd been appointed to fill the seat, which had been vacated when her husband died in November 1931, but ran for the seat and won. She won re-election in 1938.
History.com tells us she was not the first woman to serve in the Senate, or Congress, for that matter, but she was, indeed the first female elected to the Senate.
Since then, though, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of women elected to serve in the United States Senate, thanks to this amazing groundbreaker! It didn't take long for gender bias and discrimination to DISAPPEAR long after that, and soon, women were fully represented in all branches of government, respected for their experience and temperment, and sought out for all sorts of leadership positions!
Hahahahaha just kidding, only 56 more women have served as United States senators since then, compared to 693 males. Oh, well!
