Reva Zilpha Beck Bosone (April 2, 1895 – July 21, 1983) was an American attorney and politician. She was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

for two terms from 1949 to 1953. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Utah.

Early life and education

Born in American Fork in the

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, the daughter of a Danish immigrant father, Bosone attended public schools and graduated from high school in 1915. She graduated from Westminster Junior College in 1917 and from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

in 1919. She taught high school 1920–1927. She graduated from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

College of Law at Salt Lake City in 1930 and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year. Bosone was the 14th woman admitted to the Utah State Bar.

Career

She then practiced law in

Helper, Utah Helper is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States, approximately southeast of Salt Lake City and northwest of the city of Price. The population was 2,201 at the 2010 census. The city is located along the Price River and U.S. Route 6/ ...

, from 1931 to 1933 and Salt Lake City from 1933 to 1936. She served as member of the State house of representatives 1933–1935, serving as floor leader in 1935. Bosone was elected Salt Lake City judge in 1936 and served until elected to Congress. During the Second World War, she was chairman of Women's Army Corps Civilian Advisory Committee of the Ninth Service Command. In the 1940s, Bosone hosted her own weekly radio show on KDLY called ''Her Honor, the Judge'', in which she presented legal case studies. She served as official observer at the United Nations Conference at San Francisco in 1945 and as the first director of Utah State Board for Education on Alcoholism in 1947 and 1948.

Congress

Bosone was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first and Eighty-second Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953). While in office, Bosone advocated for social welfare programs including extending Social Security for military personnel, and voted against the Subversive Activities Control and Communist Registration Act. In 1949–1951 Bosone served on the Public Lands Committee, and in 1951–1953 she also served on the House Administration Committee. She was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1952 to the Eighty-third Congress and for election in 1954 to the Eighty-fourth Congress.

Later career

She served as delegate to Democratic National Conventions in 1952 and 1956. She resumed the practice of law in Salt Lake City from 1953 to 1957 and was legal counsel to Safety and Compensation Subcommittee of House Committee on Education and Labor 1957–1960. She was also a judicial officer of the Post Office Department in 1961–1968. Bosone was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Utah in 1977.

Death

She was a resident of

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

, until her death there July 21, 1983.

References

Sources

External links

Women in Utah Politics oral history project, 1976-1994

Congresswoman Reva Beck Bosone (D-Utah).

Reva Beck Bosone papers, 1927-1977

Reva Beck Bosone papers, 1896-1980

Reva Beck Bosone photograph collection, 1930-1977

Reva Beck Bosone, Utah's First Woman Judge & Congresswoman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosone, Reva Zilpha Beck 1895 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians American people of Danish descent Female members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Utah House of Representatives People from American Fork, Utah People from Vienna, Virginia Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah alumni Women state legislators in Utah Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature