Nell Cora Kruegel Irion (1877–1964) was an American politician and suffragette who served as superintendent of schools in Bonner County and was the first woman to run for Congress in Idaho.

Life

Irion was born in 1877 to Robert H. Kruegel and Amelia Faust and moved to Sandpoint, Idaho after marrying Henry Thomas Irion in 1902. In 1910, she was elected as Bonner county's school superintendent. In

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, she was nominated by the Democratic Party on the first ballot for Idaho's first congressional district, but was defeated in a landslide by incumbent Representative

Burton L. French Burton Lee French (August 1, 1875 – September 12, 1954) was a congressman from Idaho. French served as a Republican in the House from 1903 to 1909, 1911 to 1915 and 1917 to 1933. With a combined 26 years in office, he remains the longest-s ...

with 34,654 votes to 15,218 votes. In 1936 she was elected to Sandpoint's city council and in 1939 she ran for mayor of Sandpoint, but was defeated by incumbent Mayor Malcolm P. McKinnon by 99 votes. In the 1940s she served as president of Idaho's affiliate of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Following her husband's death in 1960 she began to wear male clothing before her own death in 1964 at age 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irion, Nell Kruegel Idaho Democrats 20th-century American politicians Suffragists from Idaho People from Sandpoint, Idaho 1877 births 1964 deaths Place of birth missing Education in Bonner County, Idaho 20th-century American women