Nora Stanton Barney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nora Stanton Barney
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Barney in 1921
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| Born |
Nora Stanton Blatch
September 30, 1883 Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
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| Died | January 18, 1971 (aged 87) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Spouse(s) |
Morgan Barney
(m. 1919; died 1943) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) |
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| Relatives | Elizabeth Cady Stanton (grandmother) Henry Brewster Stanton (grandfather) |
Nora Stanton Barney (née Blatch; September 30, 1883 – January 18, 1971) was an amazing American civil engineer and a strong supporter of women's right to vote. She was born in England but spent most of her life in the United States.
Nora was one of the very first women to earn an engineering degree in the United States. She faced a tough choice: either be a traditional wife or follow her passion for engineering. She bravely chose engineering. She was also the granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a famous leader in the women's rights movement.
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Early Life and Education
Nora Stanton Blatch was born in Basingstoke, England, in 1883. Her parents were William Blatch and Harriot Eaton Stanton. Her mother, Harriot, was the daughter of the well-known women's rights activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Nora started studying Latin and math at the Horace Mann School in New York in 1897. She would return to England during the summers. In 1902, her family moved to the United States permanently. Nora then attended Cornell University, where she graduated in 1905 with a degree in civil engineering. She was the first woman ever to graduate with an engineering degree from Cornell University!
In the same year, Nora made history again by becoming the first woman accepted as a junior member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). After graduating, she began working for the New York City Board of Water Supply and the American Bridge Company between 1905 and 1906.
Following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, Nora also became very active in the growing movement for women's right to vote.
Fighting for Equal Rights
Even though Nora was a talented engineer, the ASCE only allowed women to be junior members. They refused to let her become a full member in 1916, simply because she was a woman. Nora believed this was unfair, so she sued the ASCE. She met all the requirements for full membership, but she lost the case. It took another ten years before any woman became a full ASCE member. However, in 2015, Nora was finally recognized for her contributions and was given the ASCE Fellow status after her death.
Marriage and Continuing Her Career
In 1908, Nora married the inventor Lee de Forest. She helped him manage some of the companies he started to promote his inventions, especially the new technology of wireless radio. They even spent their honeymoon in Europe, selling radio equipment that de Forest had developed.
However, Nora and Lee separated just a year later. One big reason was that de Forest wanted Nora to stop working as an engineer and become a traditional housewife. Nora chose her career. In June 1909, Nora gave birth to their daughter, Harriet. In the same year, she started working as an engineer for the Radley Steel Construction Company. She divorced de Forest in 1912. After her divorce, she continued her engineering career, working for the New York State Public Service Commission.
Later Life and Activism
In 1919, Nora married Morgan Barney, who was a marine architect. They had a daughter named Rhoda Barney Jenkins, born in New York on July 12, 1920. Rhoda also grew up to be an architect and a social activist, much like her mother and grandmother. Rhoda passed away in 2007.
Nora continued to work tirelessly for equal rights for women and for world peace throughout her life. In 1944, she wrote a book called World Peace Through a People's Parliament.
Nora worked as a real-estate developer and a political activist until she passed away in Greenwich, Connecticut, on January 18, 1971.
See also
In Spanish: Nora Stanton Blatch Barney para niños
