Laura Jane Addams (1860-1935)

Awarded the Prize “in recognition of her combination of all the best feminine qualities which will help us to develop peace on earth, holding fast to the ideal of peace even during the difficult hours. Throughout the whole war she toiled for a peace that would not engender a new war, becoming, as she did so, the spokesman for the pacifist women of the world.”

American social reformer pacifist. Addams was born on September 6, 1860 at Cedarville, Illinois. She graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881. She is best known as the founder of Hull House in Chicago, providing a variety of help to the poor. In 1905 she was appointed to Chicago’s Board of Education subsequently made chairman of the School Management Committee; in 1908 she participated in the founding of the Chicago School of Civics Philanthropy in the next year became the first woman president of the National Conference of Charities Correct