Lilith Martin Wilson
{{Short description|American politician (1886–1937)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{infobox officeholder
| image = Lilith Martin Wilson.jpg
| caption = Wilson {{circa}} 1930s
| office1 = Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
| term_start1 = {{start date|1930}}
| term_end1 = {{end date|1936}}
| successor1 =
| constituency1 =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1886|9|13}}
| birth_place = Dublin, Indiana
| death_date = {{death date and age|1937|7|8|1886|9|13}}
| death_place = Reading, Pennsylvania
| party = Socialist Party of Pennsylvania
| spouse = {{marriage|Birch Wilson|1921}}
| occupation = Politician
| nationality = American
}}
Lilith Martin Wilson (September 13, 1886 – July 8, 1937) was an American socialist who served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1930 to 1936.{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Heather |date=April 24, 2019 |title=Lilith Martin Wilson: Berks County's First Female State Politician |url=https://www.bctv.org/2019/04/24/lilith-martin-wilson-berks-countys-first-female-state-politician/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=BCTV |language=en-US}} She was the first woman in Pennsylvania to run for governor, receiving just over two percent of the vote in the 1922 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1958 |title=Politics in County, State and Nation |pages=4 |work=Lebanon Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114043420/politics-in-county-state-and-nation/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Biography
Wilson was born on September 13, 1886, in Dublin, Indiana, to Lida and Morris Browne. She attended high school in Kokomo, Indiana, and the Rand School of Social Science in New York.{{Cite news |date=July 9, 1937 |title=Obituary for Lilith M. Wilson |pages=1 |work=The Reading Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114048220/obituary-for-lilith-m-wilson/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Wilson was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1930, winning by a margin of 85 votes.{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1930 |title=Six Policemen Complete "Sentences" Of 30 Days |pages=3 |work=Intelligencer Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114062382/six-policemen-complete-sentences-of/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} She was subsequently reelected in the 1932 and 1934 elections, but did not run for reelection in 1936 due to failing health.{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1934 |title=Hoopes and Wilson Reelected |pages=11 |work=The Reading Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114062841/hoopes-and-wilson-reelected/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=February 15, 1936 |title=Mrs. Lilith Wilson, in Hospital, Out of Assembly Race |pages=1 |work=The Reading Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114063303/mrs-lilith-wilson-in-hospital-out-of/ |access-date=December 3, 2022}} As a member of the legislature, she campaigned for old age pensions, unemployment and maternity insurance, and child labor laws.{{Cite news |date=November 6, 1930 |title=There's Reward But No Sensation In Her Election, Says Mrs. Wilson |pages=15 |work=The Reading Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114061681/theres-reward-but-no-sensation-in-her/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} She was a member of the League for Industrial Democracy, the Old Age Security League, and the Birth Control League of Berks County.{{Cite book |last=Reed |first=Irene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_ceAotMs-8C |title=Berks County Women in History. Profiles Volume 1 |publisher=Tudor Gate Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780974094960 |pages=314–315}}
She died on July 8, 1937, at the age of 50.{{Cite news |date=July 9, 1937 |title=Obituary for LILITH M. WILSON |pages=4 |work=Republican Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114043918/obituary-for-lilith-m-wilson/ |access-date=December 3, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Lilith Martin}}
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Category:20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly