Worksheet (pdf): Famous Women Worksheet

Mary Philbrook of Jersey City was the first woman lawyer admitted to the New Jersey Bar Association. After starting her career as an apprentice in a New Jersey law office, she applied to the New Jersey bar in 1894, but was denied because she was a woman. New Jersey suffragists lobbied the state legislature to change the law and Philbrook was admitted to the bar in 1895. Throughout her life, Philbrook worked for equal rights for women, social reform, and world peace.

In 1982, Weehawken’s Marie L. Garibaldi became the first woman to be appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court. She is also the first woman to serve as president of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Garibaldi, who retired in 2000, wrote more than 225 opinions during her time on the court. Prior to her appointment, she was a partner at a Morristown-based law firm.

Christine Todd Whitman was the first woman governor of New Jersey. Prior to becoming governor, Whitman headed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Somerset County Board of Freeholders. President George W. Bush appointed Whitman Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in January 2001.

For more information on New Jersey Women’s History, please visit the Women’s Project of New Jersey.

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