Elizabeth McCullough Johnson (1909–1973) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. She served as a Democratic member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

and Florida Senate for nearly a decade. Johnson became the first female state senator in

Florida history The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological evidence. Florida's written history begins with the arrival of Europ ...

upon her election in 1962. She had previously become the second woman elected to the Florida House, when she was chosen to represent

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

in 1958.Florida switched to numerical district elections for the state house in 1966. Johnson was a leading advocate, along with former State Senate President

William A. Shands William Augustine Shands (July 21, 1889 – January 20, 1973) was an American politician and elected officeholder. Shands was a long-time Democratic member of the Florida Senate and an advocate for the establishment of a state medical colleg ...

for the establishment of the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in 1963. She considered it, along with the creation of a statewide planning and zoning system, as her chief legislative accomplishments. Johnson was a member of the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, and was posthumously inducted into the

Florida Women's Hall of Fame The Florida Women's Hall of Fame is an honor roll of women who have contributed to life for citizens of the US state of Florida. An awards ceremony for the hall of fame was first held in 1982 and recipient names are displayed in the Florida State ...

in 1986. Senator Beth Johnson Park, a

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

located near Lake Ivanhoe in Orlando is named in her honor. After her death in 1973 her remains were interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Orange County, Florida.

References

General: * James, Randall. "Morphing Orlando: Into a World-Class City" (2013), * Weatherford, Doris. ''Women in American Politics: History and Milestones'' (2012), Notes: In-text: {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Beth 1909 births 1973 deaths Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party Florida state senators Women state legislators in Florida People from Pennsylvania People from Orange County, Florida 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians