Biography

Elizabeth "Betsy" Miller Richards, politician and women's rights advocate, was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Her father, Albert Miller, was a pioneer in anesthesia, and her mother, Ada Holding Miller, was a musician and president of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Elizabeth Miller graduated from Radcliffe College in 1934, and married Charles Richards, a lawyer from Red Oak, Iowa, the following year. In 1947 the couple moved from Washington, D.C. to Red Oak with their children.

Richards became active in the Democratic Party in Red Oak. From 1963 to 1964 Richards was the secretary of the Democratic State Central Committee and in 1964 she ran an unsuccessful campaign for Democratic National Committeewoman. In 1966 Richards ran for state representative of Adams and Montgomery counties. She was also active in the League of Women Voters of Iowa and the National Organization for Women (NOW). In 1970, she wrote "The Cost of Political Campaigns," an article exploring the role of financial resources in political campaigns.

Citation:

Author: Sarah M. Dorpinghaus, 2009

Found in 1 Collection or Record: