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legal herstory firsts
United States

First Woman
President

Year: 

Not Yet!

First Woman
Vice President

Year: 2020

Kamala Harris

First Woman
Governor

Year: 1925

Nellie Tayloe Ross

 

Wyoming

First Woman
Cabinet Member

Year: 1933

Frances Perkins

First Woman
U.S. Secretary of State

Year: 1997

Madeleine Albright

First Woman
U.S. Attorney General

Year: 1993

Janet Reno

First Woman

Speaker of the 
U.S. House

of Representatives

Year: 2007, 2019

Nancy Pelosi

California

First Woman

Minority Leader of the U.S. House

of Representatives

Year: 2002

Nancy Pelosi

California

First Woman
Member of the

U.S. House

of Representatives

Year: 1917

Jeannette Rankin

Montana

First Woman
Senate Majority Leader

Year: 

Not Yet

​

First Woman

Senate Minority Leader

Year: 

Not Yet

​

First Woman
Senator

Year: 1922

Rebecca Latimer Felton

Georgia

First Woman
Supreme Court Justice

Year: 1981

Sandra Day O'Connor

First Woman
Federal Judge

Year: 1918

Kathryn Sellers

​

Juvenile Court, District of Columbia

First Woman
District Court Judge

Year: 1949

Burnita Shelton

Matthews

District of Columbia

First Woman
Admitted Lawyer

Year: 1869

Arabella Mansfield

Iowa

First Woman
Law School Graduate

Year: 1870

Ada Miser Kepley

University of Chicago

First Woman
Law School Student

Year: 1869

Lemma Barkaloo

Washington University

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