Profession: 2nd Woman Elected to Congress and Educator
Why Famous: Robertson was the "first" of many; she was America's first female postmaster of a Class A post office, the first woman elected to Congress from Oklahoma, the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives, and the first female clerk at the Indian Office at the Department of the Interior.
Best remembered for her commitment to Native American rights, Robertson was a prominent educator in the later 19th century.
In 1920 Robertson became the 2nd woman to hold a federal office when she was elected to the 67th Congress as a Republican from Oklahoma’s 2nd District.
Though hostile to the women's suffrage movement and its many leaders, Robertson remained committed to bettering the lives of Indians, women, farmers, soldiers, and working people.
- 1921-07-20 Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives