Frances Perkins, class of 1902, was the first female cabinet member in U.S. history, serving as Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945 under the appointment of President Franklin Roosevelt. But what about her life before that?
This online exhibition about Frances Perkins was curated by Lindsey Restelli, class of 2022. Secondary sources used for this project include Madam Secretary Frances Perkins by George Martin and Frances Perkins “That Woman in FDR’s Cabinet!” by Lillian Holmen Mohr. To learn more about Frances Perkins’s time at Mount Holyoke, please contact us at archives@mtholyoke.edu or 413-538-3079.