Edna Rankin McKinnon
{{short description|Birth control reformer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edna Rankin McKinnon
| image = File:Edna Rankin.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|10|21}}
| birth_place = Missoula, Montana
| death_date = {{dda|1978|04|05|1893|10|21}}
| death_place = Carmel, California
| other_names =
| occupation =
| relatives = Jeannette Rankin (sister)
Wellington D. Rankin (brother)
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| education = University of Wisconsin
Wellesley College
University of Montana School of Law
| spouse(s) = {{married|John W. McKinnon|1919|1930}}
| children = 2
}}
Edna Bertha Rankin McKinnon (October 21, 1893 – April 5, 1978) was an American social activist for birth control. She was the executive director of the Chicago Planned Parenthood chapter.
Early life
Rankin McKinnon was the youngest child born to her parents Olive and John Rankin. Her eldest sister, Jeannette Rankin, would become the first woman elected to the United States Congress.{{cite thesis |degree=Master |last1=Green |first1=Dan V. |date=2002 |s2cid=77557952 |title='Grim realities of involuntary motherhood' Montana women and the birth control movement 1900-1940 |publisher=The University of Montana, Missoula |pages=111–115}}
Education
Rankin McKinnon was elected President of the Suffragette League in 1915.{{cite news|title=Suffragette League Elects Its Officers|date=May 21, 1915|newspaper=Madison Wisconsin State Journal|location=Wisconsin|page=8|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-may-21-1915-1409144/}} She earned her law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 1919.{{cite news|title=Another Lady from Montana|date=April 27, 1918|newspaper=Lima Daily News|location=Ohio|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-apr-27-1918-1409123/}} She subsequently became the first Montana-born woman to pass the bar exam in Montana.{{cite news|title=Biography of Crusader Captures Her Zeal|date=April 14, 1974|newspaper=Lima Daily News|location=Ohio|page=37|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-apr-14-1974-1409130/}} After earning her degree, she married John W. McKinnon without a proper education on birth control. With McKinnon, they had two children before eventually divorcing. While married, she miscarried and became sterile.{{cite news|title=At 80 years, Edna McKinnon Still Promoting Cause|date=April 21, 1974|newspaper=Kalispell Daily Inter Lake|location=Montana|page=79|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sarasota-herald-tribune-apr-21-1974-p-79/}} After her divorce, she attended a lecture on birth control and reproduction given by Mordecai Ezekiel.{{cite web |last1=Flander |first1=Judy |title="Thank God for the Pill," says Edna McKinnon, 81, retired Margaret Sanger disciple. |url=https://judyflander.org/thank-god-for-the-pill-says-edna-mckinnon-81-retired-margaret-sanger-disciple-1a1a164f7eaf |website=judyflander.org |access-date=October 24, 2019 |date=May 28, 2017}}
Her sister helped her earn a position with the Resettlement Administration.{{cite news|title=Women with few ambitions led brith control fight|last1=Branin|first1=Jeannette|date=April 23, 1974|newspaper=Colorado Springs Gazette|location=Colorado|page=29|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-apr-23-1974-1409188/}} After meeting Margaret Sanger, she was encouraged to become a field worker in Montana to inform women about birth control. From 1937 until 1946, she travelled across the United States to spread the word of birth control as a member of the Margaret Sanger Research Bureau.{{cite book |last1=Capace |first1=Nancy |title=Encyclopedia of Montana |date=January 1, 2000 |publisher=Somerset Publishers, Inc. |isbn=978-0-403-09604-6 |page=136 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7FXL6R5MM0C&q=Edna+Rankin+McKinnon+Planned+Parenthood&pg=PA136 |access-date=October 24, 2019}} Rankin McKinnon soon resigned from the Margaret Sanger Research Bureau due to a dislike for new management.{{cite book |last1=R. McCann |first1=Carole |title=Birth Control Politics in the United States, 1916-1945 |date=1999 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-8612-8 |page=196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=it1LHbLKVpkC&q=Edna+Rankin+McKinnon+Planned+Parenthood&pg=PA196 |access-date=October 24, 2019}} She later teamed up with Clarence Gamble and the Pathfinder International Fund. However, due to her brother Wellington's disapproval, she was unable to convince Montana to sell birth control. Gamble offered McKinnon $50 to set up a birth control clinic, which she successfully started, and formed a Planned Parenthood branch in Bali.
She was elected executive director of the Chicago Planned Parenthood chapter in 1947.{{cite news|title=Mrs. Edna Rankin McKinnon Addresses Board|date=June 20, 1947|newspaper=Chicago Star Publications|location=Chicago|page=16|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/politics-clipping-jun-20-1947-1409137/}} Under her leadership, she oversaw 10 Planned Parenthood clinics across Chicago.{{cite news|title=Planned Parenthood Tea Set for Thursday Next in Village|author=Roberta|date=February 3, 1949|newspaper=Oak Park Oak Leaves|location=Illinois|page=34|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-feb-03-1949-1409244/}} She also earned an honorary degree from the University of Montana in 1974.{{cite news|title=U of M to confer Honorary Degrees|date=April 14, 1974|newspaper=Kalispell Daily Inter Lake|location=Montana|page=15|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-may-14-1974-1409199/}} During that year, Wilma Dykeman published a biography on Rankin McKinnon titled "Too Many People, Too Little Love: Edna Rankin McKinnon: Pioneer for Birth Control."{{cite news|title=Tangents|date=March 22, 1974|newspaper=Circleville Herald|location=Ohio|page=25|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/advertisement-clipping-mar-22-1974-1409249/}}
Rankin McKinnon died on April 5, 1978.{{cite web |title=Edna Rankin '18 |url=https://mtwomenlawyers.org/1910-1919/edna-rankin-mckinnon-18/ |website=mtwomenlawyers.org |date=6 August 2015 |access-date=October 24, 2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|19607829}}
{{Commons}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin McKinnon, Edna}}
Category:People from Missoula, Montana
Category:University of Montana alumni
Category:American birth control activists
Category:People associated with Planned Parenthood
Category:20th-century American women lawyers