Ellen Mills Scarbrough
Ellen Mills Scarbrough | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 1960– | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1900 Arthington, Liberia |
| Died | March 1983 Monrovia, Liberia |
Ellen Mills Scarbrough (13 November 1900 – March 1983) was a Liberian educator and politician. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1959, becoming the first woman in the Legislature.
Biography
[edit]Mills Scarbrough was born in Arthington in 1900. After studying at the College of West Africa, she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a BA. She then gained an MA from Columbia University. Returning to Liberia, she worked as a teacher.[1] In 1947 she was a member of the Liberian Delegation to the United Nations.[2] The following year, she was appointed assistant secretary of public instruction. Four years later she was promoted to assistant secretary.[1] She was also made an honorary Doctor of Education by the University of Liberia.[3]
In 1959 she was elected to the House of Representatives,[4] becoming the first woman to sit in either the House or the Senate.[5] She also served as president of the National Federation of Liberian Women.[6]
She later donated land to the government, on which the Catherine Mills mental hospital was established. She died in Monrovia in March 1983.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Elwood D. Dunn, Amos J. Beyan & Carl Patrick Burrowes (2000) Historical Dictionary of Liberia p293
- ^ Angie E. Brooks (January 1968). "Political Participation of Women in Africa South of the Sahara". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 375: 82–85. doi:10.1177/000271626837500112. JSTOR 1037892. S2CID 154658084.
- ^ Education in Liberia under the Department of Public Instruction Liberia Today, volume 2, number 8 August 1953
- ^ Election results Liberia Today, September 1959
- ^ Richard A. Henries, A. Doris Banks Henries (1966) Liberia, the West African Republic, p135
- ^ The National Christian Council Review, volume 91, p538