Jane Addams

This 1892 portrait of Jane Addams by Alice Kellogg Tyler hangs in the Hull House Museum in Chicago, Illinois.

Laura Jane Addams was a writer, philosopher, suffragist and America's first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Born in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams led a privileged childhood and was part of the first generation of American women to attend college. She chose to move to the Near West Side of Chicago with her college friend, Ellen Gates Starr, to live and work in solidarity with those living in poverty. At the settlement they created, Addams galvanized some of her generation's most imaginative thinkers, artists, and activists. They fought for immigrant rights, championed labor reform and juvenile justice, advocated for public housing and health­care, and created opportunities for free speech, dissent, and dialogue about societal change.

Addams' work at Hull-House was a radical experiment in democracy Hull-House continues to challenge us to think about our common welfare and how we might collectively create a better world through peaceful means." -- Hull House Museum.

"Alice Kellogg Tyler depicted Jane Addams, just three years after the opening of Hull-House, as deep in thought and reflection. It stands as an evocative portrayal of a woman engaged with the complex social issues of her times. The painting was commissioned by Jane's step-mother..." -- Hull House Museum.

The former country home of Charles J. Hull was turned over to Jane Addams in 1889 and became an integral part of the Hull House, an eventual complex of 12 buildings used for the social welfare programs of Miss Addams and her associates. The name Hull House also came to be associated with the program of activities conducted in these buildings. The restoration of Mr. Hull's home, made possible by contributions to the University of Illinois Foundation, is a memorial to Miss Addams, her life and works. The program now carried on a the Hull House association is located in centers in various areas of the city of Chicago. -- Historical Marker at Hull House

Here's a photo of Hull House in 1889 which appeared was published by the Western Newspaper Union

in 1940.

Hull-House as it looked in the year of its founding, 1889.

And here's Hull House on the cover of Addams' 1911 book Twenty Years at Hull House.

The Jane Addams Memorial in the Women's Garden says this about Jane Addams.

Social Philosopher Jane Addams envisioned a peaceful world community based on cooperation, mutual understanding, and acceptance of differences. Pragmatist She advocated the participation of all citizens in the creation of a just and democratic social order. Writer She authored eleven books and hundreds of articles. Lecturer A compelling public speaker, she drew upon he experience at Hull-House as a touchstone for larger social concerns. Defender Committed to civil liberty, she deplored violence, stressed compassion and multicultural understanding, and promoted a vision that valued life over death and liberty over coercion.

This charcoal sketch by Alice Kellogg Tyler also from 1892 appears in Addams' 1912 book,  Twenty Years at Hull-House on Page 114.