Jane Addams

Jane Addams did not marry, and dedicated her entire life to social causes. However, she is said to have shared a romantic friendship with Mary Rozet Smith.

The renowned activist had suffered a heart attack in 1926, after which her health gradually declined. She passed away at the age of 74.

Today, only a few buildings of the original Hull House remain intact. However, it continues to act as a monument to honour Jane Addams’ contribution to the society and world peace.

Jane Addams, also known as Laura Jane Addams was born to John Huey Addams and Sarah Addams in Illinois. She had eight siblings.

As a child, she went to Sunday school and spent most of her time playing and reading. This political activist was also an avid reader.

She was affected by tuberculosis of the spine when she was four. As a result, she developed a curve in her spine, and consequent lifelong health problems.

In 1881, she obtained a collegiate certificate from the Rockford Female Seminary in Rockford, Illinois.

She finished her first year in medicine from the Woman’s Medical College of Philadelphia, but, she had to discontinue her education because of her illness and a nervous breakdown.

In 1883, Jane Addams left for a tour to Europe along with her stepmother for a period of two years.

It was in the summer of 1887 that she heard about a settlement house named Toynbee Hall in London, the first of its kind in the world. During her second trip to Europe, she visited Toynbee Hall along with her close friend Ellen Gates Starr.

Addams and Starr together founded the first settlement house in the United States, named Hull House in 1889. It was located in Chicago, Illinois, and initially housed only Addams and Starr. Later, about 25 women made it their residence, and close to two thousand people visited it weekly when the settlement was at its peak.

In the Hull House, there were kindergarten classes, a public kitchen, an art gallery, a coffeehouse, a gym, a book bindery, a bathhouse, a music school, a girls' club, a drama group and a library. In addition to these, there were also clubs for older children and labour-related divisions.

In 1905, this able activist joined Chicago’s Board of Education. Subsequently, she presided over the board’s School Management Committee.

Jane Addams offered night schools for adults in the Hull House. This inspired many universities that offer continuing education nowadays.

She always advocated peace and spoke extensively on the subject of world peace. She published a collection of her speeches on world peace in her book “Newer Ideals of Peace” in the year 1907.

In 1910, the dedicated activist was elected as the first female president of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections.