Nell Kruegel Irion
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Nell Kruegel Irion
| image = Nell K. Irion circa 1920.jpg
| caption =
| office = Member of the Sandpoint, Idaho Board of Aldermen
| term_start = 1936
| term_end = 1937
| predecessor =
| successor =
| birth_name = Nellie Cora Kruegel
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| otherparty =
| father = Robert H. Kruegel
| mother = Amelia Faust
| spouse = {{Marriage|Henry Thomas Irion|1902|1960|end=died}}
| children =
| relatives =
| education =
| signature =
}}
Nell Cora Kruegel Irion (1877–1964) was an American politician and suffragette who served as superintendent of schools in Bonner County and was the first woman to run for Congress in Idaho.
Life
Irion was born in 1877 to Robert H. Kruegel and Amelia Faust and moved to Sandpoint, Idaho after marrying Henry Thomas Irion in 1902.{{Cite news |url=https://sandpointmagazine.com/story/women-who-make-a-difference/nell-irion/ |title=Nell Irion}}
In 1910, she was elected as Bonner county's school superintendent. In 1920, she was nominated by the Democratic Party on the first ballot for Idaho's first congressional district, but was defeated in a landslide by incumbent Representative Burton L. French with 34,654 votes to 15,218 votes.{{Cite news |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=181764 |title=ID District 1 |date=1 January 2007}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585004/the_salt_lake_tribune/ |title=Pocatello Mayor Chosen |date=26 August 1920 |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215015922/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585004/the_salt_lake_tribune/ |archive-date=15 December 2019 |url-status=live |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1936 she was elected to Sandpoint's city council and in 1939 she ran for mayor of Sandpoint, but was defeated by incumbent Mayor Malcolm P. McKinnon by 99 votes.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585601/the_twin_falls_news/ |title=Sandpoint Woman Seeks Mayoralty |date=18 April 1939 |work=The Twin Falls News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215021821/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585601/the_twin_falls_news/ |archive-date=15 December 2019 |url-status=live |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585211/spokane_chronicle/ |title=Woman Defeated |date=26 August 1939 |work=Spokane Chronicle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215020506/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585211/spokane_chronicle/ |archive-date=15 December 2019 |url-status=live |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}
In the 1940s she served as president of Idaho's affiliate of the General Federation of Women's Clubs.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585106/spokane_chronicle/ |title=Women's Club Plan Suggested By C. A. Robins |date=30 August 1947 |work=Spokane Chronicle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215020148/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40585106/spokane_chronicle/ |archive-date=15 December 2019 |url-status=live |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} Following her husband's death in 1960 she began to wear male clothing before her own death in 1964 at age 87.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irion, Nell Kruegel}}
Category:Suffragists from Idaho
Category:People from Sandpoint, Idaho
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:Education in Bonner County, Idaho