born Sept. 6, 1860, Cedarville, Ill., U.S.
died May 21, 1935, Chicago, Ill.
U.S. social reformer.
Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881 and was granted a degree the following year when the institution became Rockford College. During a trip to Europe in 188788 she visited the Toynbee Hall settlement house in London, which sparked her interest in social reform. Determined to create something like Toynbee Hall in the U.S., in 1889 she cofounded Hull House in Chicago, one of the first settlement houses in North America to provide practical services and educational opportunities for the poor. She subsequently championed social reforms such as juvenile-court law, justice for immigrants and African Americans, worker's rights and compensation, and women's suffrage. In 1910 she became the first female president of the National Conference of Social Work. An ardent pacifist, she served in 1915 as chair of the International Congress of Women and helped form the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1931 she shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with Nicholas M. Butler .