Born: 25 July 1877, United States
Died: 18 September 1928
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
American politician Edna Beard was the first woman elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1920 and to the Vermont Senate in 1922. Previously, she’d been a teacher, and was superintendent of the Orange town schools beginning in 1906, as well as operating a dairy farm in partnership with her brother. She served in local offices like Orange town treasurer (1912–1928).
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution meant many women could vote for the first time in their state elections. Although Beard lost the Republican nomination for Orange’s seat in the Vermont House of Representatives, she ran as a third-party candidate. Between the primary and the general election, 40 women in Orange registered to vote – Beard won by 38 votes.
Beard was encouraged to run for lieutenant governor following her term in the Vermont Senate, but instead chose to leave politics due to ill health, passing away a few years later.