Attorney Mayme Finley Spencer was Evanston’s first African-American female alderman. She came to Evanston in 1957 with her husband Warren, a doctor at the Community Hospital. Spencer was elected alderman in 1963 and served two terms. A graduate of Kent College of Law, Spencer practiced law for many years at a Chicago law firm while […]
Edna Dean Baker (1883-1956) was a pioneering educator who helped develop standards for early childhood education in the U.S. She served as president of the National College of Education (now National Louis University) from 1920 until 1949 and, with her sister Clara, founded the Baker Demonstration School there. The two were early proponents of kindergarten
World renowned botanist and conservation advocate Margery Carlson (1892-1985) lived in Evanston from 1930 until her death in 1985. She taught botany at Northwestern University and was a research associate at the Field Museum, helping build its plant collection through her travels around the world. Later she was involved with the Illinois Nature Conservancy, helping
