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Birth Date
She was born on September 6th, 1860, as Laura Jane Addams. The eighth of nine children in her family, she lived a very priveleged life and her father a friend of Abraham Lincoln ("Laura.."). -
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Jane Addams
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Rockford Female Seminary
In 1877, Addams decided to follow her sisters and go to college to get a degree. At this time it was more acceptable for women to go to college just like men. At Rockford she studied subjects like mathematics and philosophy, subjects only men usually studied. Jane Addams graduated 4 years later in 1881 (Segal). -
Toynbee Hall
In 1888, while Jane Addams was on a trip through Europe with her friend, Ellen Gates Starr, they visited Toynbee Hall in London, England. It was there that Addams saw a settlement house to help the poor. In that moment she knew she wanted to establish something similar in the United States ("Laura.."). -
Establishment of Hull-House
In 1889, Addams, along with her friend Starr, establish the Hull-House in Chicago. This was the start to Addams famous career. The settlement home, which was an old mansion, opened up services for the immigrants in the community, like child care, a kitchen, and many more social programs (Pleck). -
Progressive Era
In the 1900s, Jane Addams took her stand not only for settlement house reforms, but for women's rights. She became the first female face of the democratisation movement and was very motivated to show people that women should be able to work as well (Stetyaer,). -
Twenty Years at Hull-House
In 1910, Addams published her book, Twenty Years at Hull-House, which depicted the first twenty years of the settlement house she established in 1889. The book involved a lot of lecturing and persuading by Jane Addams to get people to treat immigrants respectfully (Pleck). -
Women's Peace Party
After the beginning of WWI, Addams became 1st chair of the Women's Peace Party. She then attended the International Congress of Women at The Hague in the Netherlands later that year ("Laura..") -
Declining Health
Jane Addams had dealt with health problems since birth, with tuberculosis causing a bad spine. But in 1926, after a heart attack her health started to decrease more rapidly ("Laura.."). -
Nobel Peace Prize
In 1931, Addams won the Nobel Peace Prize for all of her work for the Hull-House and peace organization. She received the award only 4 years before her death (Stetyaer,). -
Her Death
On May 21st, 1935, Addams passed away at 74 years old. The week she died, Hull-House filled an entire city block with people. Her passion and love for immigrants of the settlement homes inspired hundreds of similar housing across the United States (Segal).
