Caroline Love Goodwin O'Day (June 22, 1875, Perry

Perry, Georgia

Perry is a city in Houston county in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,600 at the 2000 census. This town is the county seat of Houston County...

, Houston County, Georgia

Houston County, Georgia

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on May 15, 1821, as one of five huge counties, later reduced in the formation of Bibb, Crawford, Pike, Macon and Peach counties. As of the 2000 census, the population is 110,765...

 - January 4, 1943 Rye

Rye (city), New York

Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the town of Rye, which is larger than the city. Rye city, formerly the village of Rye, was part of the town until 1942, when it received its charter as a city, the most recent to be issued in New York...

, Westchester County, New York

Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...

) was an American politician. She was the third woman, and first woman Democrat, elected to Congress from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Life

She graduated from Lucy Cobb Institute

Lucy Cobb Institute

The Lucy Cobb Institute was a girls' school on Milledge Avenue in Athens, Georgia. It was founded by Thomas R.R. Cobb, and named in honor of his daughter, who had died of scarlet fever at age 14, shortly before construction was completed and doors opened; it was incorporated in 1859...

 in Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

. She studied art in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, and Holland. In 1901, she married Daniel O'Day

Daniel O'Day

Daniel O'Day was one of northwestern Pennsylvania's earliest independent refiners to be brought into John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. O'Day would eventually manage crews that laid pipe to bring oil from wells to the railroads...

.

She was President of the Rye School Board. She was a commissioner of the State Board of Social Welfare from 1923 to 1934.

She was vice chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee

New York State Democratic Committee

The New York State Democratic Committee runs the local branch of the United States Democratic Party in the state of New York. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and it has an office in Albany.-List of chairpersons:...

 from 1916 to 1920, and Associate Chairman from 1923 to 1942. She was a delegate to the 1924

1924 Democratic National Convention

The 1924 Democratic National Convention, also called the Klanbake, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, took a record 103 ballots to nominate a presidential candidate. It was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history...

, 1928

1928 Democratic National Convention

The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas from June 26 – June 28, 1928. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for President and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for Vice-President.The convention was...

, 1932

1932 Democratic National Convention

The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois from June 27 - July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin Roosevelt of New York for President and Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas for Vice-President...

 and 1924 Democratic National Convention

1924 Democratic National Convention

The 1924 Democratic National Convention, also called the Klanbake, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, took a record 103 ballots to nominate a presidential candidate. It was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history...

s.

In 1934, 1936, 1938 and 1940

New York state election, 1940

The 1940 New York state election was held on November 5, 1940, to elect three judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a U.S. Senator and two U.S Representatives-at-large, as well as all members of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate....

, O'Day was elected at-large

New York's At-large congressional district

Briefly from 1873 to 1875, and 1883-1885 with one representative respectively, and again from 1933 through 1945, after New York was apportioned two extra seats in the United States House of Representatives, the state elected representatives at-large, instead of from districts...

 as a Democrat to the 74th

74th United States Congress

-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...

, 75th

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...

, 76th

76th United States Congress

The Seventy-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1941, during the seventh and...

 and 77th United States Congress

77th United States Congress

-Major events:* December 7, 1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor* December 8, 1941: Joint Session of Congress met to hear President Roosevelt deliver his "Day of Infamy" speech...

es, holding office from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1943. While in the House she was Chairwoman of the Committee on Election of President, Vice President, and Representatives (75th through 77th Congresses). Among the legislation she sponsored or co-sponsored was the Wagner-O'Day Act, the predecessor to the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act

Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act

The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act et seq. is a U.S. federal law requiring that all federal agencies purchase specified supplies and services from nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other significant disabilities. The Act was passed by the 92nd United States Congress in 1971; it...

.

She was buried at the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York

Valhalla, New York

Valhalla is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place that is located within the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, in Westchester County. Its population was 3,162 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

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