(b. January 9,1859; d. March 9, 1947) President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and founder of the League of Women Voters.

A leader of the woman suffrage movement, Carrie Chapman Catt was a peace advocate during most of World War I, then became an influential supporter of the American war effort. Born Carrie Clinton Lane, she demonstrated a strong independent streak early in life. She paid her own way through Iowa State College and after graduation worked as a high school principal. She married Leo Chapman in 1885, but he died of typhoid fever in 1886, leaving her nearly penniless. She scraped together a living as a lecturer and newspaper editorial assistant, and she joined the Iowa Suffrage Association, where she developed her organizational skills. In 1890, she married George Catt, a feminist and financially successful engineer. Elected president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in...