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Ida
B. Wise Smith
"In my book,
Ida B. Wise Smith of Des Moines was one of the greatest of all
Iowans."
— George Mills, The Des Moines Register, April 4,
1993
Ida B.
Wise Smith fought for woman suffrage and child welfare through
the Women's Christian Temperance Union and was instrumental
in establishing
the Women's reformatory at Rockwell City. She served as president of
the National WCTU for 11 years and as president of the Iowa WCTU for
20 years. In 1927, Governor Hamill named Smith the "most distinguished
woman in Iowa" for her contributions to child welfare. While chairperson
of one committee on children, Smith prepared a children's code for
the Iowa Legislature. In 1930, President Hoover appointed her to the
White House Conference on Child Health and Protection, and in 1940
she was appointed to the White House Conference on Children in a Democracy.
Born in 1871, this Hamburg native died in 1952 at age 81. Smith was
inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1977. |
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