On this day in history, May 23rd, 1846, the first American female attorney, Arabella Mansfield, was born near Burlington, Iowa as Belle Aurelia Babb. She was certified in 1869 as an attorney and admitted to the Iowa bar, but never practiced law. Instead, she chose a career as a college educator and administrator. She was also instrumental in the founding of the Iowa Suffrage Society in 1870. #ProgressIsPossible
