Lena Springs

{{short description|American politician}}

File:Lena Jones Springs (The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women, 1925).png

File:Lena J. Springs signature (The Biographical Cyclopaedia of American Women, 1925).png

Lena Jones Wade Springs (March 22, 1883 - May 17, 1942) was the first woman placed in nomination for Vice President of the United States at a political convention. She was nominated at the 1924 Democratic National Convention.

A native of Pulaski, Tennessee, she attended public schools, followed by Sullins College and post-graduate work at Virginia College in Roanoke. She became chair of the English Department at Queens College in Charlotte, and married Col. Leroy Springs in 1913, a second marriage for both.

An enthusiastic supporter of women's rights, she became a Democratic National Committeewoman in 1922, and served as chair of the Credentials Committee in 1924. While her being supported for the vice presidential nomination was in essence a gesture, she received some votes in the election process, variously given as several,Firsts for Women in U.S. Politics, Center for American Women and Politics {{cite web|url=http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/Firsts.php |title=Facts - Elections - Resources - Useful Links | Center for American Women and Politics |accessdate=2015-03-14 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216234346/http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/Firsts.php |archivedate=2014-12-16 }} over 50,[http://www.rootsweb.com/~sclancas/records/bios/lenasprings.htm Lena Springs] and 44.[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=36665 Our Campaigns - Candidate - Lena Jones Wade (Mrs. Leroy) Springs]

She died on May 18, 1942, and is buried in Pulaski, Tennessee.