Gladys Pyle

Gladys Pyle

Gladys Pyle (born October 4, 1890 in Huron , Beadle County , South Dakota , †  March 14, 1989 ibid) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) who represented the state of South Dakota in the US Senate . She was the first female senator in her party.

Ascent in South Dakota

Gladys Pyle attended public schools and graduated from Huron College in 1911 . As a result, she was active between 1912 and 1918 as a high school teacher in Miller , Wessington and Huron. In 1923 her political career began with the election to the House of Representatives from South Dakota , of which she was a member until 1927; she was the first female member of parliament in her state. Between 1927 and 1931 she held the office of Secretary of State in the government of South Dakota. 1930 Pyle ran for the Republican nomination for gubernatorial election ; only after several recounts of the votes cast was their defeat against Warren Green , who later also won the election to governor.

From 1931 to 1933, Gladys Pyle was a member of the State Securities Commission of South Dakota, after which she worked in the insurance business. During this time she was active as an advocate for women's suffrage together with her mother and two sisters . Numerous meetings of the local working group took place in her home.

US Senator

After the death of US Senator Peter Norbeck on December 20, 1936, Gladys Pyle ran for the by-election for his seat on November 8, 1938. In the meantime Herbert E. Hitchcock had temporarily taken the seat. With 58.1 percent of the vote, she prevailed against the Democrat John McCullen, whereupon she entered Congress the following day . She did not run for the next term of office held on the same day; this also decided a Republican in John Chandler Gurney . Gurney then replaced her on January 3, 1939 in the Senate. She was the first female senator there who was not initially appointed, but was directly elected to her office.

Two years later, Gladys Pyle was the first woman who was allowed to give a nomination speech at a nomination party convention : At the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia , she spoke out for Wendell Willkie . She then withdrew from politics: She continued her professional career in the insurance sector and also worked in the agricultural sector. From 1943 to 1957 she was still on the Board of Charities and Corrections in her home state.

Gladys Pyle died in March 1989 at the age of 98 in her native Huron. At the time, she was the oldest surviving former Senate member. Her family's home, where she lived from 1894 to 1985, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is now a museum.

Web links

• Gladys Pyle in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Gladys Pyle in the database of Find a Grave (English)