Lilith Martin Wilson (September 13, 1886 – July 8, 1937) was an American socialist who served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1930 to 1936. She was the first woman in Pennsylvania to run for governor, receiving just over two percent of the vote in the

1922 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election The 1922 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 1922. Incumbent Republican governor William Sproul was not a candidate for re-election. Republican candidate Gifford Pinchot defeated Democratic candidate John A. McSparran ...

Biography

Wilson was born on September 13, 1886, in

Dublin, Indiana Dublin is a town in Jackson Township, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 679 at the 2020 census. History Dublin was laid out and platted in 1830. It is named after the city of Dublin in Ireland. A post office has been ...

, to Lida and Morris Browne. She attended high school in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

, and the

Rand School of Social Science The Rand School of Social Science was formed in 1906 in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served a ...

in New York. Wilson was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1930, winning by a margin of 85 votes. She was subsequently reelected in the 1932 and 1934 elections, but did not run for reelection in 1936 due to failing health. As a member of the legislature, she campaigned for old age pensions, unemployment and maternity insurance, and child labor laws. She was a member of the

League for Industrial Democracy The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) was founded as a successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society in 1921. Members decided to change its name to reflect a more inclusive and more organizational perspective. Background Intercollegiate ...

, the Old Age Security League, and the Birth Control League of Berks County. She died on July 8, 1937, at the age of 50.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Lilith Martin 20th-century American women politicians Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1886 births 1937 deaths 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly