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Jane Addams
Co-founding Hull House and pioneering community-based social reform.
Settlement movement · Nobel Peace Prize
- Born
- 6 September 1860
- Birthplace
- Cedarville, Illinois, United States
- Died
- 21 May 1935
More people
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was an American reformer who connected neighbourhood services with campaigns for wider social change. Her work at Chicago’s Hull House informed labour, education and public-health reform, while she also became an international peace advocate.
Early life
Illinois childhood
Grew up in a prosperous family; her mother died when she was very young.
Rockford education
Attended Rockford Female Seminary and later travelled in Europe.
Career
- 1889
Hull House
Founded the Chicago settlement with Ellen Gates Starr.
- 1890s–1910s
Urban reform
Linked local services with research and campaigns on working and living conditions.
- 1915
Peace organising
Helped organise the women’s peace congress at The Hague.
- 1919 onwards
International leadership
Led the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
Public work
Hull House programmes
Provided education, childcare and cultural activities within an immigrant neighbourhood.
Twenty Years at Hull-House
Described the settlement’s development and social commitments.
Nobel Peace Prize
Shared the prize with Nicholas Murray Butler.
Beyond public life
Mary Rozet Smith
Maintained a close lifelong partnership with Smith, who supported her work.
Wartime criticism
Her opposition to the First World War brought hostility as well as later recognition.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Adam Cuerden. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
