Edson, Katherine Philips (1870–1933)

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Edson, Katherine Philips (1870–1933)

American reformer. Born Katherine Philips, Jan 12, 1870, in Kenton, Ohio; died Nov 5, 1933, in Pasadena, California; dau. of William Hunter Philips (surgeon) and Harriet J. Carlin; attended Academy of the Sacred Heart in Clifton, Ohio; studied voice at Chicago music conservatory; m. Charles Farwell Edson (singer, musician and teacher), Oct 8, 1890 (div. 1925); children: Katharine (b. 1892), Philips Josiah (b. 1896) and Charles Farwell (b. 1905).

Active on behalf of woman suffrage, municipal reform, and health issues, worked on the suffrage campaign which successfully won the vote in California (1911); elected to the Los Angeles Charter Revision Commission; was also the 1st woman named to executive committee of National Municipal League (1911); appointed to state central committee of Progressive Party; served as special agent of California Bureau of Labor Statistics (1912); proposed legislation for wage-and-hour reform which was passed (1913); during WWI, served as government mediator and arbiter; appointed to advisory committee on arms limitation by President Harding (1921); served on national board of League of Women Voters (1932–33).