Belva Lockwood

born October 24, 1830, died May 19, 1917

Although Belva Lockwood was admitted to and attended classes at
National University Law School (later George Washington University),
they refused to grant her a diploma. She promptly wrote a letter to 
President Ulysses S. Grant, ex-officio president of the school.
Within twenty-six days, her diploma was granted. She was admitted
to the bar, but the courts refused to hear a woman attorney. Her personal
efforts at lobbying Congress led to passage of a bill that, in 1879, enabled 
her to become the first woman lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court's
bar. Lockwood also founded the first suffrage group in the District of
Columbia and lobbied Congress for passage of feminist legislation. She
ran for president in 1884 on the Equal Rights ticket, but garnered only
4,000 votes. As a lawyer, Lockwood won many historic cases, including
one that allowed a black attorney to practice before the Supreme Court, and
one in which she won $5 million for the Eastern Cherokee Indian tribe.