Arabella Mansfield

Lawyer, suffragist

Arabella Mansfield (May 23, 1846 – August 1, 1911), born Belle Aurelia Babb, became the first female lawyer in the United States in 1869, admitted to the Iowa bar; she made her career as a college educator and administrator.

Despite an Iowa state law restricting the bar exam to males, Mansfield had taken it and earned high scores.Shortly after her court challenge, Iowa amended its licensing statute and became the first state to accept women and minorities into its bar.

During her career, Mansfield worked primarily as an educator and activist, teaching at Iowa Wesleyan College and DePauw University.At the latter, she also became a university administrator, serving successively as dean in the 1890s of two different schools.