Laura A. Freele Osborn (1866-1955) was a suffragist, campaigner for school reform, and long-serving member of the School Board for Detroit Public Schools in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

during the early half of the 20th century.

Early life and education

She was born and raised in

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, Hun ...

Career

Laura F. Osborn was a prominent advocate of non-partisan school boards in Michigan, including contribution to legislation passed in 1913 and later lobbying then Governor

Woodbridge N. Ferris Woodbridge Nathan Ferris (January 6, 1853March 23, 1928) was an American educator from New York, Illinois and Michigan who served as the 28th governor of Michigan and in the United States Senate as a Democrat. Early life in New York, Michigan a ...

to support this reform. She was first elected to the Detroit School Board in 1917, campaigning on a platform of reform. She was the first woman elected to citywide office in Detroit. She served on the school board for 38 years, until her death in 1955. During that time she was selected as board president seven times. Osborn also played a role in developing

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in the mid-1930s. She is also credited with having mobilized women into the cause of school reform and temperance, and also to have "broken the prejudice against women officeholders in Detroit".'' Detroit News'', Feature entitled "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame," 1928 ''(no relation to the current

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

)'' She also ran unsuccessfully for Detroit City Council two times.

Personal life

She taught school in Huntington until her marriage in 1891 to Francis C. Osborn, a Detroit businessman and inventor.

Legacy

Osborn High School Osborn High School, also known as Osborn Academy of Mathematics is a public high school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), located in Northeast Detroit. Currently, the school has over 20 course offerings some of which are ...

in Detroit, built in the late 1950s, was named in her honor. * She was inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regi ...

in 1995.

References

Osborn High School

"The Folks Behind DPS Building Names: Laura Freele-Osborn," ''Transporting News'' (Office of Student Transportation, Detroit Public Schools) Vol. 2, No. 8, April 2007, page 3

"10 Historic Detroiters You Should Know," ''Daily Detroit'', 15 January 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Laura Freele American educational theorists Schoolteachers from Indiana American women educators Politicians from Detroit Wayne State University people 1866 births 1955 deaths American suffragists Women in Michigan politics People from Huntington, Indiana American temperance activists Members of the Detroit Board of Education