Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995) became one of the most radical social activists of the last three decades of the 20th century. The Gray Panthers, an organization she helped to found, was instrumental in bringing about significant national reforms, including nursing home reform, the prohibition of forced retirement, and fighting health care fraud.

Maggie Kuhn was born on August 3, 1905, in Buffalo, New York. Her family was conservative and middle class. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Kuhn lived from 1916 until 1930. She attended the Western Reserve University's College for Women in Cleveland. Kuhn noted in a 1993 interview with Sandra Erlanger published in CWRU Magazine, that her activism had its beginnings in college. "I think it began with my sociology courses...." said Kuhn. "Sociology, for me, related the community to the individual, and showed us a way to act responsibly in groups." With her sociology class, Kuhn visited jails, sweatshops, and slums...