Happy Birthday, Jane Addams!

from BIOGRAPHY dot-com:
Jane Addams, known prominently for her work as a social reformer, pacifist and feminist during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was born Laura Jane Addams on September 6, 1860, in Cedarville, Illinois. The eighth of nine children born to an affluent state senator and businessman, Addams lived a life of privilege. Her father had many important friends, including President Abraham Lincoln.
In the 1880s, Addams struggled to find her place in the world. Battling with health problems at an early age, she graduated from the Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881, and then traveled and briefly attended medical school. On one trip with friend Ellen Gates Starr, the 27-year-old Addams visited the famed Toynbee Hall in London, England, a special facility established to help the poor. She and Starr were so impressed by the settlement house that they sought to create one in Chicago. It wouldn't be long before their dream became reality.  In 1889, Addams and Starr opened one of the first settlements in both the United States and North America, and the first in the city of Chicago: Hull House, which was named after the building's original owner. The house provided services for the immigrant and poor population living in the Chicago area. Over the years, the organization grew to include more than 10 buildings and extended its services to include child care, educational courses, an art gallery, a public kitchen and several other social programs.
In 1963, the construction of the University of Illinois' Chicago campus forced Hull House to move its headquarters, and, unfortunately, most of the organization's original buildings were demolished as a result. However, the Hull residence was transformed into a monument honoring Addams that remains standing today.