Mary Anderson Bain (September 19, 1911 – August 7, 2006) was a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

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 ...

best known for her 33 years of service as Chief of Staff for Representative Sidney R. Yates, of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Bain was born in

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb ** DeK ...

, where she was involved in Democratic politics. In 1935 she became the director of the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...

, one of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

's New Deal agencies, for the Northern Illinois District. By 1939 she was director of NYA for all of Illinois. Later she was Deputy Director of the Illinois

War Manpower Commission The War Manpower Commission was a World War II agency of the United States Government charged with planning to balance the labor needs of agriculture, industry and the armed forces. History The Commission was created by President Franklin D. R ...

, roving Midwest executive for the Office of Price Administration, and Illinois Director for the U.S. Employment Service. In 1937 she married a reporter named Herbert Bain, who was an editor of the old ''Chicago Herald-American'' before becoming a public relations executive in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. The couple were very close through to his death on June 11, 2006; they were both 94 at the time of their deaths. They are survived by a daughter, Mary Ellen Bain, and two grandsons. Bain's career on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

began in 1965, when she became Chief of Staff to Representative Sidney R. Yates (D-Ill.). Yates became chairman of the

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

’s Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies in 1975. Together Yates and Bain worked to promote the preservation of the nation's cultural heritage and history through the founding of the

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hist ...

, the Brittle Books and National Heritage Preservation programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities, establishment of the Conservation Program at the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and establishment of a cultural heritage grants program at the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

. Mary also aided the development of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

; in recognition of her leadership in this area, Bain was awarded the Heritage Defender award. She retired in 1999.

External links

Mary Anderson Bain, My favorite old New Dealer
By Cliff Sloan
Chicago Tribune Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, Mary Anderson 1911 births 2006 deaths Political chiefs of staff United States congressional aides Women in Illinois politics 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians