Dixy Lee Ray (1914-1994) was a marine biologist interested in environmental issues. Concerned about the energy supply, she was appointed to the Atomic Energy Commission. After also serving in the State Department, she was elected to one term as governor of Washington.

Dixy Lee Ray was born in Tacoma, Washington, on September 3, 1914. Her parents, Alvin Marion Ray, a commercial printer, and Frances (Adams) Ray, already had one daughter and could not decide on another girl's name. The birth certificate read simply "Baby Ray, female." As she grew up, she was affectionately called "the little Dickens," later shortened to Dick. When she turned 16 she chose her own name, taking Dixy in place of Dick and picking Lee for her Southern grandmother, who was related to General Robert E. Lee.

Dixy Lee Ray graduated from high school with an outstanding record and several scholarship offers. She picked Mill's College, a...