Margaret Chase Smith

Margaret Chase Smith was born in Skowhegan, Maine in 1897. Smith married Clyde Smith in 1930, and after her husband was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, she moved to Washington, D.C. with him and worked as his secretary. Clyde Smith died in 1940, and per his dying wishes, Margaret Chase Smith ran for, and won, his House seat in the next election. In 1949, after serving nine years in the House, Smith was sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. She even ran for president in 1964. As a politician, Smith was known for supporting military causes and for sometimes breaking ranks with the Republican party.