Mary Shotwell Ingraham (January 5, 1887 – April 16, 1981) was an American social reformer and the founder of the

United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

(USO). She was the first woman to receive the

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States. It was awarded by the President of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct i ...

award.

Early life

Ingraham was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, on January 5, 1887. She was daughter of Henry Titus Shotwell and Alice Wyman (Gardner) Shotwell.

Mid life and education

Ingraham attended and graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1908 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She received the honorary degree of

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in 1958 and also from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1961.

Awards

Ingraham was the president of the Brooklyn

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(YWCA) from 1922 to 1939. She was president of the National Board of the YWCA from 1940 to 1946 and involved with the YWCA's war work and interracial efforts. Ingraham was founder in 1941 of the

, more often referred to as the USO. She inspired and promoted USO shows and entertainment for service people during World War II. She was given the United States

in 1946 by President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

for her work, the first woman to receive this award. During the time the medal was awarded, it was the highest Presidential award given to civilians for outstanding service related to the military.

Family

Ingraham married Henry Andrews Ingraham, a lawyer, on October 28, 1908. They lived in

. One of their children was Mary Alice Ingraham Bunting-Smith (1910–1998), also known as "Polly", the first woman to be appointed to serve on the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...

. The other children were Henry Gardner Ingraham, Winifred Andrews Ingraham and David Ingraham.

Religion

Ingraham was a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

from an ancestral line of Quakers.

Death

Ingraham died in Huntington, Long Island, New York, on April 16, 1981.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingraham, Mary Shotwell 1887 births 1981 deaths People from Brooklyn Vassar College alumni United Service Organizations American social activists American Quakers Medal for Merit recipients Activists from New York (state)