Jeannette Rankin

From Ms. Magazine - The first woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, was born on this day in 1880. She was elected in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. A lifelong pacifist, she was the only member of Congress to vote against declaring war on Japan after Pearl Harbor. Colleagues demanded she change her vote so the decision would be unanimous, but she refused. Men in the gallery hissed at her when she cast her opposing vote, and an angry mob even followed her after the adjournment.