Arabella Mansfield

Abarbella Mansfield, originally Arabella Aurelia Babb, became the first woman to be admitted to the bar in the United States in 1869 after taking the Bar in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Mansfield was born in 1846 on an Iowa farm. She graduated as the valedictorian from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1866. Upon graduation she became a professor of english, history, and political science at Simpson College. Mansfield then worked as an apprentice at her brother's law firm and began studying the law.

State legislation excluded women from the bar exam. Mansfield brought the case to court in 1869 and won. She took and passed the bar leading to the state legislature amending the code to say “women and persons of color may be attorneys at law”.

González, J. (2024, January 26). Arabella Mansfield, first female lawyer: In Custodia legis. The Library of Congress. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2024/01/arabella-mansfield-first-female-lawyer/