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Louis DeKoven Bowen (1859 - 1953)

Louis DeKoven Bowen's tireless efforts for the rights of women, children, and minorities made her one of the leading activists of her day. Her career as a civic leader began in 1893 when Jane Addams asked her to join the Hull-House Woman's Club. Bowen was one of a group of women who convinced Cook County to establish a separate court system for juveniles, and she served as president of the Juvenile Protective Association for 35 years. Bowen also advocated suffrage for women.  Her writings were instrumental in helping women gain the vote.

Bertha Honoré Palmer (1849-1918)

Bertha Honoré Palmer was a linguist, writer, politician, musician, and art collector. Soon after her marriage to Potter Palmer in 1870, the Chicago Fire wiped out most of their holdings.  Together, they re-established their fortune and hosted many soirees in their new home in the Gold Coast which Bertha filled with works by Monet, Renoir, and Degas. Bertha belonged to the Chicago Woman's Club, a progressive organization that lobbied for fair treatment of women and children in hospitals, prisons, poorhouses, and in the neighborhoods that received too little attention from city government. In 1891, Bertha was named chairwoman of the Columbian Exposition's Board of Lady Managers. This group was charged with creating a pavilion to celebrate the accomplishments of women around the world. 

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862 – 1931)

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was an investigative journalist, educator, and civil rights activist who established the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago in 1913 to educate African American women about the political process and encourage them to use the power of the ballot to address issues important to their communities. Her efforts were instrumental in securing the election of the city's first Black alderman, Oscar DePriest, in 1914. Wells also co-founded the National Association of Colored Women in 1896 and the NAACP in 1909. Over the course of a lifetime dedicated to combating prejudice and violence, and the fight for African American equality, especially that of women, Wells arguably became the most famous black woman in America. On May 4, 2020, Ida B. Wells was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize special citation "for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching." 

Eleanor Robinson Countiss Whiting (1888-1931)

Eleanor Robinson Countiss Whiting was known for her poise as a hostess and for her unique, fashionable attire, she was also known for her entrepreneurial business dealings in limestone, cosmetics, and motor vehicles and for her socially progressive activities as a suffragette, a volunteer for the American Red Cross, and periodically as an immigrant’s rights advocate.  Her home at 1524 N. Lake Shore Drive has housed the International Museum of Surgical Science since 1954.