Eleanor Faxon Woolley Fowler (August 26, 1907 – August 19, 1987) was an American peace and labor activist. She was a national officer of the

Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in 1935 as a committee within the American Federation of ...

in the 1930s and 1940s, and of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from 1959 to 1972.

Early life and education

Eleanor Faxon Woolley was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the daughter of Paul Gerhardt Woolley and

Helen Thompson Woolley Helen Bradford Thompson Woolley (November 6, 1874 – December 24, 1947) was an American psychologist, known for her contributions to the educational sector, groundbreaking research on sex differences and rigorous research methods. Woolley's inter ...

. Her father was a physician, and her mother was a psychologist. She graduated from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United Sta ...

in 1927. She pursued further studies at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

and at

the Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, and earned a doctorate in international law at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

Career

Fowler was active in the labor movement. She was secretary-treasurer of the Congress of Women's Auxiliaries, the women's organization of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and she edited the ''CIO News'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was also a member of the legislative staff of the CIO. She testified before the House Committee on Military Affairs in 1942, on the material needs of military dependents during World War II. In 1944 she testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, in favor of repealing federal taxes on margarine. Fowler was executive secretary of the Washington, D.C. branch of the American League for Peace and Democracy during the 1930s. She was a national officer of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) from 1959 to 1972, serving as membership chair and assistant to the executive director,

Mildred Scott Olmsted Mildred Scott Olmsted (December 5, 1890 – July 2, 1990) was an American Quaker pacifist, in leadership positions with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in the United States. Early life Mildred Scott was born in Glenolden, P ...

. In 1966, she was the league's acting executive director, after Olmsted retired. She was also the longtime head of the Bucks County chapter of the WILPF. Fowler visited the Soviet Union twice, attended international conferences including the 1970 WILPF meeting in New Delhi, and joined peace rallies in the United States, including a women's anti-nuclear protest in Washington, D.C. in 1980. Fowler's political activities brought her under scrutiny from law enforcement and Congressional investigations. "The Communist sympathies, if not the party membership, of Eleanor Fowler are well established by her public record," noted a House committee report in 1944. "She was periodically arrested, convicted, and fined, usually for disorderly conduct," explained her obituary in ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'', which also quoted her as saying "It's all part of making our point."

Personal life

Eleanor Woolley married Canadian-born labor organizer and journalist Cedric Weeden Fowler. They had children, John, Ann, and Jane. Her husband died in 1968. She died from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

at her home in Lower Makefield Township, Pennsylvania, in 1987, at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Eleanor Woolley 1907 births 1987 deaths Bryn Mawr College alumni American pacifists Columbia University alumni