Victoria Lederberg (July 7, 1937 – December 29, 2002) was a justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

from 1993 to 2002. Before her appointment, Lederberg was a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

from 1974 to 1983 and the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

from 1985 to 1991. In 2003, she was posthumously inducted into the

Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame was established in the State of Rhode Island in 1965. Mission The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Officers The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame is managed by a president, vice president, recording ...

Early life and education

Lederberg was born on July 7, 1937, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, US. She graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1966 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

in 1976.

Career

In 1968, Lederberg began her career as a psychology professor at

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Rhode Island, United States, with much of the land in Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, and other parts in North Providence, Rhode Island, North Providence. The college was established in 18 ...

. She became a member of the

in 1974 and became a lawyer in 1976. As a politician, Lederberg remained with the House of Representatives until 1983. She was elected to the

in 1985 and was with the Senate until 1991. For her judicial career, Lederberg worked for the Providence Municipal Court before being named to the

in 1993. Apart from her tenures, Lederberg ran for

Secretary of State of Rhode Island The secretary of state of Rhode Island is an elected office in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of 2023, the current secretary of state is Gregg Amore. Powers and duties The Rhode Island Department of State or is composed of five separate ...

in 1982 but lost to

Susan Farmer Susan L. (née Lawson) Farmer (May 29, 1942 – September 16, 2013) was an American politician, media executive and television personality. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she went to Garland Junior College and Brown University Extension Di ...

. In 1990, Lederberg was one of the candidates running for mayor of Providence. Before the Democratic primary in Rhode Island, she participated in a competition where she and the other candidates became mayor of a virtual version of Providence in ''

SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game franchise originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, '' SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and was followed by several sequels and many other spin-off ''S ...

''. During her play session, Lederberg converted a power plant from conventional fuel to nuclear, built numerous police stations and accidentally demolished a church. At the 1990 primary, Lederberg lost to Andrew Annaldo after an

election recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

was made.

Awards and honors

Lederberg was posthumously inducted into the

in 2003.Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
page on Victoria Lederberg.

Personal life and death

Lederberg was married and had two children. She died on December 29, 2002, in Providence from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lederberg, Victoria 1937 births 2002 deaths Lawyers from Providence, Rhode Island Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Rhode Island College faculty Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Rhode Island state senators Brown University alumni Suffolk University Law School alumni Women state legislators in Rhode Island 20th-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women politicians American women academics 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges