Myra Colby Bradwell was a lawyer, publisher, women’s rights advocate, and a teacher. She was a member of the executive committee of the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association and lobbied alongside her husband for widows’ legal property rights. She also fought for a woman’s right to vote and the right to become a lawyer, since she had not been allowed to become a lawyer in Illinois based on her sex and marital status. In 1869, she helped get the married women’s property bill passed. Bradwell founded and edited the “Chicago Legal News,” an important legal publication.
Significance
Bradwell founded and edited the “Chicago Legal News,” an important legal publication. She was a strong advocate of women’s rights and other legal and social reforms. She got the married women’s property bill passed in March 1869. She also urged Congress to hold the World Columbian “exposition in Chicago and was largely responsible for Chicago’s being chosen as the site” (985).