Anna Byford Leonard

Anna Byford Leonard, "A woman of the century"

Anna Byford Leonard (July 31, 1843 – ) was an American reformer, who was the first woman who was appointed sanitary inspector. She also served as president of the Woman's Canning and Preserving Company.

Early years[]

Anna Byford was born in Mount Vernon, Indiana, July 31, 1843. She was a daughter of the physician and surgeon, , of Chicago, Illinois. He was the founder and president of the Woman's Medical College of Chicago.

Career[]

In 1889, Leonard was appointed sanitary inspector, being the first woman who ever held that position, and was enabled to carry out many of the needed reforms It was through her instrumentality, aided by the other five women on the force, that the eight-hour law was enforced, providing that children under fourteen years of age should not work more than eight hours a day. That was enforced in all dry-goods stores. Through her endeavors seats were placed in the stores and factories, and the employers were instructed that the girls were to be allowed to sit when not occupied with their duties. She was enabled to accomplish this through the fact that the physicians and women of Chicago were ready to sustain her, and the other fact that her position as a sanitary inspector of the health department made her an officer of the police force, thus giving her authority for any work she found necessary to do. As a result of this eight-hour law, schools were established in some of the stores from eight to ten a. m.. giving the younger children, who would spend that time on the street, two hours of solid schooling. In 1891, Leonard was made president of the Woman's Canning and Preserving Company, which, after one short year from its organization, she left with a factory, four stories and basement, with a working capital of US$40,000. Leonard was an artist of ability, having studied abroad and traveled extensively.^[1]

Byford was a Theosophist.^[2] Some of her papers are held by New York Historical Society Museum & Library.^[3]

References[]

Attribution[]

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Theosophical Publishing House (1893). The Theosophist. 14 (Public domain ed.). Theosophical Publishing House.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. p. 457.

External links[]

• Works related to Woman of the Century/Anna Byford Leonard at Wikisource