Bertha Ethel Knight Landes (October 19, 1868, – November 29, 1943) was the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as
mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1926 to 1928. After years of civic activism, primarily with women's organizations, she was elected to the
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...
in 1922 and became council president in 1924.
Early years
Landes was born in
Ware, Massachusetts to Charles Sanford Knight and Cordelia Cutter. Her father, a veteran of the Union Army, moved the family to Worcester in 1873. She attended Worcester's Dix Street School and Classical High School, from which she received her diploma. At the age of 19 she moved to Bloomington, Indiana, to live with her older sister Jessie Knight, whose husband
David Starr Jordan had become the president of
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
. Bertha enrolled as a student at the University in the fall of 1888.
She received a degree in history and political science in 1891, after which she returned to Worcester.
After three years of teaching at her alma mater, the Classical High School in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, she married geologist Henry Landes on January 2, 1894. Knight and Landes had met as students at Indiana University. The couple had three children, one of whom was adopted. Landes moved to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
in 1895 when her husband Henry became a geology professor at the fledgling
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
, with the help of a favorable recommendation from Jordan.
Henry would go on to become Dean of the College of Sciences in 1912, the University's first.
Civic activism
In Seattle, Landes was active in women's organizations, including the Women's University Club, the Rainier Club, and the Women's Auxiliary of University Congregational Church.
She was a member of the influential Women's Century Club, for which she served as the head of social services (1916-17) and then president (1918-1920).
She was president of the Washington State chapter of the
League of Women Voters.
From 1920-22 Bertha served as president of the Seattle Federation of Women's Clubs, which by 1923 included 245 member clubs representing thousands of women.
With the Federation, in 1921 she orchestrated a weeklong Women's Educational Exhibit for Washington Manufacturers. Staffed by more than 1,000 club women and showcasing the technological innovations of 130 manufacturers, it bolstered the spirits of the business community during a period of severe recession, symbolizing for the state's business community the emergence of Seattle as a sophisticated, modern metropolis. One such manufacturer wrote to Landes after the exhibit expressing hope "that someday you will be rewarded by seeing greater prosperity in Seattle, and that you will then feel fully repaid for the untiring efforts you have put forth."
That year, Landes was appointed by the city mayor to serve on a commission studying unemployment,
the only woman on the five-member commission.
In 1922, Landes organized "The Women's Civic League" (renamed the "Women's City Club" in 1923). The purpose of the club was to educate women about local, state, national and world politics, and in cooperation with other organizations, to work towards securing the welfare of the city and improving civic conditions. Within a year it had more than 500 members.
Political career
Landes and Kathryn Miracle were the first women to serve on the
Seattle City Council
The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...
; both were elected in 1922. Landes became council president after her reelection in 1924. She became acting mayor in 1924 when Mayor
Edwin J. "Doc" Brown left town in June to attend the
1924 Democratic National Convention
The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominat ...
. Angry at what she saw as police corruption and lawless activity, Landes fired Police Chief William B. Severyns. She began her own law and order campaign, closing down illegal activities throughout the city, including lotteries, punchboards and speakeasies. Upon his return, Brown reinstated the police chief.
When Brown ran for another two-year term in 1926, Landes ran against him, on the platform that "municipal housecleaning" was needed in the Seattle government. Landes easily won the election in March, by more than 6,000 votes.
During her term, she advocated municipal ownership of utilities such as
Seattle City Light
Seattle City Light is the public utility providing electricity to Seattle, Washington, in the United States, and parts of its metropolitan area, including all of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park and parts of unincorporated King County, Burien, N ...
and street railways. She also fought hard against bootleggers and reckless drivers, and strictly enforced regulations for dance halls and cabarets. The Civic Auditorium, later renovated as the
Seattle Opera House, is one of her accomplishments.
She appointed qualified professionals to head city departments, improve public transportation and parks, and put the city's finances in order.
Landes ran for a second term in 1928. Although endorsed by newspapers, the Central Labor Council, the
Prohibition Party, and women's organizations, Landes was easily defeated by Frank Edwards, a political unknown,
by a vote of 59,000 to 40,000, in a record turnout.
Later years
Landes became the first woman to serve as Moderator of Washington's Conference of Congregational and Christian Churches and was also elected national president of the
Soroptimists, a professional women's organization. She wrote many articles for national publications, often urging women to enter politics, their "natural sphere."
During the 1930s, Landes was chair of the Sewing Room Work for the Women's Division of the Mayor's Commission for Improved Employment. She oversaw 673 women who sewed garments for women and children to "help improve the unemployment situation."
From 1933 to 1941, Landes traveled extensively. In 1933, she and her husband began to lead student groups, sponsored by the University of Washington, to the Far East. The couple also took groups of schoolteachers from across the United States to sites in Alaska,
Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
and
Glacier National Park, among others.
Henry contracted bronchitis on a trip to China in June 1936, which developed into pneumonia, leading to his death in Seattle on August 23, 1936, at the age of 68.
At the time of Henry's loss, Bertha wrote that he was "pleased and willing to have me try my wings" and that he was her "tower of strength in times of stress, and made many sacrifices without complaint that I might give my time and strength to my civic service." She added, "Life was to be lived to the fullest, always on a partnership basis and a definite sharing of different special interests. It was so lived for 40 years until the summons came for one of us, and now I have to face life and its problems alone."
Following his death, Bertha agreed to lead the tour alone in 1937. She continued her travels in 1938 aboard the ship ''SS Monterey'', with stops in Honolulu, Pago Pago, Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne.
During the late 1930s, Bertha began to reduce her level of civic activism. She gave fewer public speeches, focusing instead on smaller appearances and on lending endorsements and assistance to community causes such as Seattle's Women's City Club Chorus, as well as fundraising for groups like the League of Women Voters. Her health began to decline. In her private life she turned away from the traditional religious practices of the
Congregational Church
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, of which she and Henry had been members since the late 1890s, joining instead the
Unity School of Christianity
Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is an organization founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore in 1889. It grew out of Transcendentalism and became part of the New Thought movement. Unity is known for its '' Daily Word'' devotional publi ...
.
Bertha continued to live independently at the Wilsonian Hotel in Seattle's University District until 1941, when she moved to
Pacific Palisades, California
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles.
Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Chautauqua, Methodist organization, an ...
, in hopes that the warmer climate would improve her health.
She died at her son's home in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
on November 29, 1943, at the age of 75.
Her ashes were interred at
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park originated in 1885. It is located on both sides of Aurora Avenue in Seattle, Washington, and occupies roughly 144 acres (58 ha). It is the largest cemetery in Seattle.
History
At the time of its inception, the a ...
in Seattle.
Legacy
Today, the largest meeting room at
Seattle City Hall
Seattle City Hall (also known as the Seattle Municipal Building) is the home of the offices of the mayor and city council of Seattle, Washington, located between 4th Avenue and 5th Avenue in the downtown area of the city. Most city departments h ...
is named in her honor.
The tunnel boring machine used to construct the
Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel
The State Route 99 tunnel, also known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel, is a bored highway tunnel in the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The , double-decker tunnel carries a section of State Route 99 (SR 99) under ...
under
downtown Seattle
Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
was nicknamed "Bertha" after her.
A wing of Read Residence Hall at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
is named for her.
Marie Dressler
Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber, November 9, 1868 – July 28, 1934) was a Canadian stage and screen actress, comedian, and early silent film and Depression-era film star. In 1914, she was in the first full-length film comedy. She ...
plays a character based on her in the film
Politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
set in the fictional Lake City.
References
Further reading
* Mildred Tanner Andrews, ''Woman's Place: A Guide to Seattle and King County History'' (Seattle: Gemil Press, 1994), p. 132-134
* Richard C. Berner, ''Seattle 1921-1940: From Boom to Bust'' (Seattle: Charles Press, 1992)
* Sandra Haarsager, ''Bertha Knight Landes: Big-City Mayor'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994)
* Doris H. Pieroth, "Bertha Knight Landes: The Woman Who Was Mayor," in ''Women in Pacific Northwest History: an Anthology'', ed. by Karen J. Blair (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988), 83-106.
External links
American National Biography Onlineat www.anb.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landes, Bertha Knight
1868 births
1943 deaths
Mayors of Seattle
People from Ware, Massachusetts
Women mayors of places in Washington (state)
Seattle City Council members
Women city councillors in Washington (state)
Indiana University alumni