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'''Ruth Bryan Owen''' (October 2, 1885 – July 26, 1954) was the daughter of [[William Jennings Bryan]]. A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], in 1929 she became [[Florida]]’s (and the [[Southern United States|South]]'s) first woman representative in the [[United States Congress]], coming from Florida’s 4th district. Representative Owen was also the first woman to earn a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=273 Reference to Foreign Affairs appointment]</ref> In 1933, she became the first woman appointed as a U.S. minister to another country when President Roosevelt selected her to be Minister to Denmark and Iceland.<ref>Vickers, Sarah Pauline. ''The Life of Ruth Bryan Owen: Florida’s First Congresswoman and America’s First Woman Diplomat.'' Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, (1994)</ref>
'''Ruth Bryan Owen''' (October 2, 1885 – July 26, 1954) was the daughter of [[William Jennings Bryan]]. A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], in 1929 she became [[Florida]]’s (and the [[Southern United States|South]]'s) first woman representative in the [[United States Congress]], coming from Florida’s 4th district. Representative Owen was also the first woman to earn a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=273 Reference to Foreign Affairs appointment]</ref> In 1933, she became the first woman appointed as a U.S. ambassador to another country when President Roosevelt selected her to be Ambassador to Denmark and Iceland.<ref>Vickers, Sarah Pauline. ''The Life of Ruth Bryan Owen: Florida’s First Congresswoman and America’s First Woman Diplomat.'' Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, (1994)</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
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Owen first ran for office in 1926 for the Democratic nomination for Florida's Fourth Congressional District, which at the time included nearly the entire east coast of the state from [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] to the [[Florida Keys]] and included [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] and [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], losing by fewer than 800 votes.<ref>Morin, Isobel V., ''Women Chosen for Public Office'' The Oliver Press, (1995), p78</ref> Two years later, after the death of her husband, she ran again. She was elected to Congress (March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933) while a widow and mother of four. Her election was contested on the grounds that she lost her citizenship on her marriage to an alien. By the [[Cable Act]] in 1922, she could petition for her citizenship, which she only did in 1925, less than the seven years required by the Constitution. She argued her case before the House Committee on Elections that no American man had ever lost his citizenship by marriage; therefore, Owen argued she lost her citizenship because she was a woman, not because of her marital status. The [[U.S. House of Representatives]] voted in her favor.<ref>U. S. Congress. House. ''Arguments and Hearings before Elections Committee No. 1; Contested Election Case of William C. Lawson v. Ruth Bryan Owen, from the Fourth Congressional District of Florida. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930.'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.</ref><ref>U. S. Congress. House. ''Report No. 968. Committee on Elections No. 1. William C. Lawson-Ruth Bryan Owen Election Case. Report of the Hon. Carroll L. Beedy, of Maine, chairman. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930.'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.</ref> Although Owen won again in 1930, she was defeated for renomination in 1932 by a candidate advocating the repeal of [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|prohibition]].<ref>Weidling. p. 164</ref>
Owen first ran for office in 1926 for the Democratic nomination for Florida's Fourth Congressional District, which at the time included nearly the entire east coast of the state from [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] to the [[Florida Keys]] and included [[Miami, Florida|Miami]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] and [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], losing by fewer than 800 votes.<ref>Morin, Isobel V., ''Women Chosen for Public Office'' The Oliver Press, (1995), p78</ref> Two years later, after the death of her husband, she ran again. She was elected to Congress (March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933) while a widow and mother of four. Her election was contested on the grounds that she lost her citizenship on her marriage to an alien. By the [[Cable Act]] in 1922, she could petition for her citizenship, which she only did in 1925, less than the seven years required by the Constitution. She argued her case before the House Committee on Elections that no American man had ever lost his citizenship by marriage; therefore, Owen argued she lost her citizenship because she was a woman, not because of her marital status. The [[U.S. House of Representatives]] voted in her favor.<ref>U. S. Congress. House. ''Arguments and Hearings before Elections Committee No. 1; Contested Election Case of William C. Lawson v. Ruth Bryan Owen, from the Fourth Congressional District of Florida. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930.'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.</ref><ref>U. S. Congress. House. ''Report No. 968. Committee on Elections No. 1. William C. Lawson-Ruth Bryan Owen Election Case. Report of the Hon. Carroll L. Beedy, of Maine, chairman. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930.'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.</ref> Although Owen won again in 1930, she was defeated for renomination in 1932 by a candidate advocating the repeal of [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|prohibition]].<ref>Weidling. p. 164</ref>


===First U.S. female minister===
===First U.S. female ambassador===
[[File:Ruth Bryan Owen taking the oath.gif|200px|thumb|Ruth Bryan Owen, Minister to Denmark, America's first woman envoy, taking the oath of office. P.F. Allen, Chief Clerk of the appointment division of the Department of State is administering the oath
[[File:Ruth Bryan Owen taking the oath.gif|200px|thumb|Ruth Bryan Owen, Ambassador to Denmark, America's first woman envoy, taking the oath of office. P.F. Allen, Chief Clerk of the appointment division of the Department of State is administering the oath
]]
]]


From 1933 to 1936 she was [[United States Ambassador to Denmark|U.S. Minister to Denmark]], appointed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10497.htm United States Department of State: Ambassadors to Denmark]</ref><ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000154 Congressional Biography]</ref> She served successfully until 1936 when she married Borge Rohde, a Danish Captain of the King's Guard, in July. This gave her dual citizenship as a Dane, so she resigned her post in September.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936314,00.html ''Time'' Obituary, Aug 9, 1954.]</ref>
From 1933 to 1936 she was [[United States Ambassador to Denmark]], appointed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/po/com/10497.htm United States Department of State: Ambassadors to Denmark]</ref><ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000154 Congressional Biography]</ref> She served successfully until 1936 when she married Borge Rohde, a Danish Captain of the King's Guard, in July. This gave her dual citizenship as a Dane, so she resigned her post in September.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,936314,00.html ''Time'' Obituary, Aug 9, 1954.]</ref>


She was also a delegate to the [[San Francisco Conference]] which established the [[United Nations]] after World War II. In 1948, President Truman named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly.
She was also a delegate to the [[San Francisco Conference]] which established the [[United Nations]] after World War II. In 1948, President Truman named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly.

Revision as of 10:30, 11 June 2014

Ruth Bryan Owen
United States Ambassador to Denmark
In office
1933–1936
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byFrederick W. B. Coleman
Succeeded byAlvin Mansfield Owsley
Personal details
Born(1885-10-02)October 2, 1885
Jacksonville, Illinois
DiedJuly 26, 1954(1954-07-26) (aged 68)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)William Leavitt (1903-1909) (divorce)
Reginald Owen (1910-1928)(his death)
Borge Rohde (1936-1954) (her death)
ProfessionPolitician, Author

Ruth Bryan Owen (October 2, 1885 – July 26, 1954) was the daughter of William Jennings Bryan. A Democrat, in 1929 she became Florida’s (and the South's) first woman representative in the United States Congress, coming from Florida’s 4th district. Representative Owen was also the first woman to earn a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.[1] In 1933, she became the first woman appointed as a U.S. ambassador to another country when President Roosevelt selected her to be Ambassador to Denmark and Iceland.[2]

Biography

She was born on October 2, 1885.

In 1903 Ruth Bryan dropped out of the University of Nebraska to marry William H. Leavitt, a well-known Newport, Rhode Island, portrait painter, who was painting Bryan's father's portrait when the couple met.[3] The couple had two children before divorcing in 1909. She married Reginald Owen, a British Army officer in 1910,[4] bearing two more children. Her second husband died in 1928. She spent three years in Oracabessa, Jamaica, where she oversaw the design and construction of her home, Golden Clouds, which is now operated as a luxury villa. Owen kept her home in Jamaica for over three decades and spent many winters there, particularly in later years when she lived in Denmark and New York. She detailed her time in Jamaica and experiences at Golden Clouds in vivid detail in her book, Caribbean Caravel.[5]

World War I

During World War I, she served as a war nurse in the Voluntary Aid Detachment in the Egypt-Palestine campaign, 1915-1918. From 1925 to 1928, she was an administrator at the University of Miami.

Owen first ran for office in 1926 for the Democratic nomination for Florida's Fourth Congressional District, which at the time included nearly the entire east coast of the state from Jacksonville to the Florida Keys and included Miami, Orlando and St. Augustine, losing by fewer than 800 votes.[6] Two years later, after the death of her husband, she ran again. She was elected to Congress (March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933) while a widow and mother of four. Her election was contested on the grounds that she lost her citizenship on her marriage to an alien. By the Cable Act in 1922, she could petition for her citizenship, which she only did in 1925, less than the seven years required by the Constitution. She argued her case before the House Committee on Elections that no American man had ever lost his citizenship by marriage; therefore, Owen argued she lost her citizenship because she was a woman, not because of her marital status. The U.S. House of Representatives voted in her favor.[7][8] Although Owen won again in 1930, she was defeated for renomination in 1932 by a candidate advocating the repeal of prohibition.[9]

First U.S. female ambassador

Ruth Bryan Owen, Ambassador to Denmark, America's first woman envoy, taking the oath of office. P.F. Allen, Chief Clerk of the appointment division of the Department of State is administering the oath

From 1933 to 1936 she was United States Ambassador to Denmark, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[10][11] She served successfully until 1936 when she married Borge Rohde, a Danish Captain of the King's Guard, in July. This gave her dual citizenship as a Dane, so she resigned her post in September.[12]

She was also a delegate to the San Francisco Conference which established the United Nations after World War II. In 1948, President Truman named her an alternate delegate to the U.N. General Assembly.

She died July 26, 1954 in Copenhagen, Denmark and was cremated. Her ashes were interred at Ordrup Cemetery, Copenhagen.

Published work

  • Owen, Ruth Bryan Elements of Public Speaking New York, H. Liveright (1931)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan Leaves from a Greenland Diary New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1935)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan Denmark Caravan New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1936)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan Picture Tales from Scandinavia Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co. (1939)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan The Castle in the Silver Wood and Other Scandinavian Fairy Tales New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1939)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan Look Forward, Warrior New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1942)
  • Owen, Ruth Bryan, Caribbean Caravel New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. (1949)

Other

In 1939, Ruth Bryan Owen (1885–1954) and her husband purchased "The Cedars," located at Alderson, West Virginia, and began making repairs. They sold the property in 1945.[13] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[14]

In 1992, she was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.

References

Notes
  1. ^ Reference to Foreign Affairs appointment
  2. ^ Vickers, Sarah Pauline. The Life of Ruth Bryan Owen: Florida’s First Congresswoman and America’s First Woman Diplomat. Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, (1994)
  3. ^ The Leavitt-Bryan Wedding, The New York Times, Sept. 23, 1903
  4. ^ The Owen-Bryan Wedding, The New York Times, May 4, 1910
  5. ^ Caribbean Caravel, Ruth Brown Owen, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1949), New York, 222 pages
  6. ^ Morin, Isobel V., Women Chosen for Public Office The Oliver Press, (1995), p78
  7. ^ U. S. Congress. House. Arguments and Hearings before Elections Committee No. 1; Contested Election Case of William C. Lawson v. Ruth Bryan Owen, from the Fourth Congressional District of Florida. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.
  8. ^ U. S. Congress. House. Report No. 968. Committee on Elections No. 1. William C. Lawson-Ruth Bryan Owen Election Case. Report of the Hon. Carroll L. Beedy, of Maine, chairman. 71st Cong., 2nd sess., 1930. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930.
  9. ^ Weidling. p. 164
  10. ^ United States Department of State: Ambassadors to Denmark
  11. ^ Congressional Biography
  12. ^ Time Obituary, Aug 9, 1954.
  13. ^ C.E. Turley (July 1978). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Alexander McVeigh Miller House" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  14. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
Bibliography
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 4th congressional district
1929 - 1933 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by U.S. Ambassador to Denmark
1933–1936 		Succeeded by

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