However brief and symbolic it may have been, Rebecca Latimer Felton’s term in the Senate inspired many other women to strive against the restrictions of the patriarchal culture. Born in 1835 in DeKalb Country, Georgia, to a merchant and his wife, she grew up with a solid private school education and graduated top of her class from Madison Female College. Her first foray into politics came from managing her husband’s campaign for the House of Representatives; she stayed heavily involved in politics thereafter, supporting many progressive women’s causes. Then at the age of 87 she decided to seize an opportunity to enter the senate.

On this day, November 21, in 1922 Rebecca Felton was sworn in as Georgia’s Senator, replacing the suddenly departed Thomas E. Watson. The state’s governor appointed her as senator until a special election could be held the next day to determine the permanent replacement.

She spent less than twenty-four hours total as a senator, but the incoming senator replacing Felton praised her as an example to all, serving with “ability,” “integrity of purpose,” and “unstinted usefulness.” Her monumental achievement was just one of many in an illustrious career that included decades of political work in support of her husband, a column in an Atlanta newsper, and several books.