{{Short description|American politician (1877–1965)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Ruth Baker Pratt | image = Ruth Baker Pratt.jpg | state = New York | district = 17th | party = Republican | term_start = March 4, 1929 | term_end = March 3, 1933 | preceded = William W. Cohen | succeeded = Theodore A. Peyser | birth_name = Ruth Sears Baker | birth_date = {{Birth date|1877|08|24}} | birth_place = Ware, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1965|08|23|1877|08|24}} | death_place = Glen Cove, New York, U.S. | spouse = {{marriage|John Teele Pratt|1904|June 17, 1927|end=d.}} | children = 5, including Edwin | occupation = | alma_mater = Wellesley College | signature = }} '''Ruth Sears Pratt''' (née '''Baker'''; August 24, 1877 &ndash; August 23, 1965)<ref name="nytimesobit">{{cite news |title=Mrs. Ruth Baker Pratt Dies; State's First Woman in House; Served in Washington From 1928 to 1932 -- First of Sex on Board of Aldermen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/08/24/archives/mrs-ruth-baker-pratt-dies-states-first-woman-in-house-served-in.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 24, 1965 |language=en}}</ref> was an American politician and the first female U.S. representative to be elected from New York.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ajli.org/?nd=p-do-civldr-bio-ruth-sears-baker-pratt|title=Ruth Sears Baker Pratt, The Junior League of New York|website=www.ajli.org|language=en|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref>

== Early life == On August 24, 1877, Pratt was born as Ruth Sears Baker in Ware, Massachusetts to Carrie V. Baker and Edwin H. Baker, a cotton manufacturer.<ref name="nytimesobit"/><ref name="congress_Pratt"/><ref name="house">{{Cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/19904 |title=PRATT, Ruth Sears Baker |website=house.gov |access-date=June 7, 2021}}</ref>

Pratt attended Dana Hall.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=January 5, 1929|title=Ruth B. Pratt--New York's First Congresswoman|volume=XIV|pages=379–380|work=Equal Rights|publisher=|issue=48}}</ref> Pratt studied mathematics at Wellesley College.<ref name="nytimesobit"/><ref name="congress_Pratt">{{Cite web|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000505|title=PRATT, Ruth Sears Baker (1877-1965) |website=bioguide.congress.gov |access-date=October 24, 2018}}</ref> She also spent a year and a half studying violin at the Conservatory of Liege, Belgium.<ref name=":0" />

==Career== thumb|right|200px|Mrs. Pratt in 1920 In the 1920 presidential election, Pratt was a presidential elector for Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYg0AQAAMAAJ|title=Proceedings of the Electoral College of the State of New York, 1921|publisher=J. B. Lyon Company|year=1921|location=Albany, N.Y.|pages=6|language=en}}</ref> In 1924, she supported and drew in women's support for Frank J. Coleman Jr. candidacy for leadership of the Fifteenth Assembly District; Pratt was later made associate leader of the District before she became secretary.<ref name=":0" /> She was a member of the Board of Aldermen of New York City in 1925, being the first woman to serve; re-elected in 1927 and served until March 1, 1929. She was a member of the Republican National Committee 1929-1943; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1924, 1932, 1936, 1940; delegate to the Republican State conventions in 1922, 1924, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1936, and 1938.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Si6ZVqdOqIgC&pg=PA540|title=From Suffrage to the Senate: An Encyclopedia of American Women in Politics. A - M|last=O'Dea|first=Suzanne|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=1999|pages=540|language=en|isbn=9780874369601}}</ref> She served as president of the Women's National Republican Club from 1943 to 1946.

She was elected as a Republican to the 71st and 72nd Congresses (1929–1933),<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVtFJ5tvINsC&pg=PA521|title=Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics|last=Ford|first=Lynne E.|date=May 12, 2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|pages=521|language=en|isbn=9781438110325}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJONYxmDPWwC&pg=PA44|title=Women in Society: Achievements, Risks, and Challenges|last=Thorne|first=Magdalena E.|date=2005|publisher=Nova Publishers|pages=45|language=en|isbn=9781590339428}}</ref> being the first woman elected to Congress from New York, beating out her primary competitor Phelps Phelps.<ref>{{cite news|title=National Affairs: Phelps-Pratt|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,927845,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121024056/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,927845,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 21, 2010|access-date=May 27, 2010|newspaper=Time|date=September 17, 1928|publisher=Time Inc.}}</ref> In 1932, Ruth lost reelection to Democrat Theodore Peyser.<ref name="1937PeyserObit">{{cite news |title=Theodore Peyser, Congressman, Dies – Represented the Silk Stocking 17th District After Defeat of Ruth Baker Pratt – Former Insurance Man – Credited With Having Sold Million-Dollar Life Policies to 33 Clients Entered Politics in 1932 Aided by Wagner Native of West Virginia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/08/09/archives/theodore-peyser-congressman-dies-represented-the-silk-stocking-17th.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 9, 1937}}</ref>

===Pratt-Smoot Act=== Together with Reed Smoot, she introduced the Pratt-Smoot Act, passed by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on March 3, 1931. The Act provided $100,000, to be administered by the Library of Congress, to provide blind adults with books. The program, which is known as Books for the Blind, has been heavily amended and expanded over the years, and remains in place today.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz9OB2xLGecC&pg=PA96|title=Women in Congress, 1917-2006|last=Wasniewski|first=Matthew Andrew|date=2006|publisher=Government Printing Office|pages=96|language=en|isbn=9780160767531}}</ref>

===Electoral history=== {{Election box begin no change | title=New York's 17th congressional district election, 1928<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - NY District 17 Race - Nov 06, 1928 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=228906 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change| |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Ruth Baker Pratt |votes = 36,655 |percentage = 51.83 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Philip Berolzheimer |votes = 32,466 |percentage = 45.91 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Socialist Party of America |candidate = Bertha Maily |votes = 1,600 |percentage = 2.26 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 70,721 | percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing |winner = Republican Party (United States) |loser = Democratic Party (United States)}} {{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=New York's 17th congressional district election, 1930<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - NY District 17 Race - Nov 04, 1930 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=208242 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change| |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Ruth Baker Pratt (incumbent) |votes = 39,826 |percentage = 43.32 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Louis B. Brodsky |votes = 38,436 |percentage = 41.80 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Socialist Party of America |candidate = Heywood Broun |votes = 13,682 |percentage = 14.88 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 91,944 | percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box hold with party link no swing |winner = Republican Party (United States) }} {{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change | title=New York's 17th congressional district election, 1932<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Campaigns - NY District 17 Race - Nov 08, 1932 |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=217909 |website=www.ourcampaigns.com |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = Theodore A. Peyser |votes = 36,397 |percentage = 52.90 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Republican Party (United States) |candidate = Ruth Baker Pratt (incumbent) |votes = 29,776 |percentage = 43.28 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Socialist Party of America |candidate = Alexander Kahn |votes = 2,092 |percentage = 3.04 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Law Preservation Party |candidate = George H. Mann |votes = 541 |percentage = 0.79 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 68,806 | percentage = 100.00 }} {{Election box gain with party link no swing |winner = Democratic Party (United States) |loser = Republican Party (United States)}} {{Election box end}}

==Personal life== thumb|right|Her husband, John Teele Pratt, in 1919 In 1904,<ref name="GovtP2006">{{cite book|title=Women in Congress, 1917-2006|date=2006|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=9780160767531|page=[https://archive.org/details/womenincongress100wasn/page/95 95]|url=https://archive.org/details/womenincongress100wasn|url-access=registration|access-date=April 25, 2018|language=en}}</ref> she married John Teele Pratt, a corporate attorney, philanthropist, music impresario, and financier.<ref name="nytimesobit"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACTF56SnaykC&pg=PA139|title=The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members|last=Stone|first=Kurt F.|date=December 29, 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810877382|language=en}}</ref> He was one of six children born to industrialist and Standard Oil co-founder Charles Pratt and Mary Helen (née Richardson) Pratt. His siblings included brothers Frederic, George, Herbert, and Harold. From his father's first marriage, he had two half-siblings including Charles Millard Pratt.<ref name=bio>{{cite news |title=John Teele Pratt, Financier, is Dead |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/18/archives/john-teelepratt-finoier-is-dead-large-standard-oil-holder-and.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=June 18, 1927 }}</ref> He died in 1927, leaving her a large fortune.<ref name="house"/> Together, they had five children:<ref name="house"/><ref name=":0" /><ref name="1965estate">{{cite news |title=Five Children of Mrs. Pratt To Share $1 Million Estate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/08/31/archives/five-children-of-mrs-pratt-to-share-1-million-estate.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 31, 1965}}</ref>

* John Teele Pratt Jr. (1903–1969),<ref name="JTPJrObit1969">{{cite news|title=John T. Pratt Jr., 65, Is Dead; Institute Trustee and Bank Aide|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/06/21/archives/joan-t-pratt-jr-65-is-dead-institute-trustee-and-bank-a-icle.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=June 21, 1969}}</ref> who was married to Mary Christy Tiffany, the daughter of George Shepley Tiffany.<ref name="1950Engagement">{{cite news|title=Miss Mary Christy Pratt Engaged to Bayard Cutting Auchincloss|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/139102944/|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=February 10, 1950|page=45|language=en}}</ref> They divorced and he later married Elizabeth Ogden Woodward, the daughter of William Woodward Sr. and the former wife of Robert Livingston Stevens Jr. After his death, she married Alexander Cochrane Cushing, founder of Squaw Valley Ski Resort.<ref name="ACObit2006">{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Douglas|title=Alexander Cushing, 92, Dies; Turned Squaw Valley Into World-Class Skiing Destination|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/obituaries/22cushing.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=August 22, 2006}}</ref> * Virginia Pratt (1905–1979),<ref name="VPTObit1979">{{cite news|title=Deaths {{!}} Thayer-Virginia Pratt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/13/archives/obituary-9-no-title.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=December 13, 1979}}</ref> who married Robert Helyer Thayer, a U.S. Minister to Romania,<ref name="RHTObit1984">{{cite news|title=Robert H. Thayer, 82; Ex-Envoy to Rumania|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/29/obituaries/robert-h-thayer-82-ex-envoy-to-rumania.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=January 29, 1984|language=en}}</ref> in 1926.<ref name="1926Engagement">{{cite news|title=Miss Virginia Pratt to Wed on Dec. 30 – Marriage to Robert H. Thayer Will Take Place in St, Bartholomew's Church|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/12/08/archives/miss-virginiapratt-to-bd-oi-deg-30-mrriage-to-robert-h-thayer-will.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=December 8, 1926}}</ref> * Sally Sears Pratt (1908–1973), who married James Tracy Jackson III in 1928.<ref name="1928Engagement">{{cite news|title=Sally Pratt Reveals Her Marriage Plans – Daughter of Mrs. Ruth B. Pratt, Alderman, and James Jackson Jr. Get a License|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/01/28/archives/sally-pratt-reveals-her-marriage-plans-daughter-of-mrs-ruth-b-pratt.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=January 28, 1928}}</ref><ref name="1928Wedding">{{cite news|title=Sally Pratt Weds James Jackson Jr.. – Married by Rev. Dr. Endicott Peabody at Home of Her Mother, Alderman Ruth Pratt – Her Sister Honor Maid|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/02/17/archives/sally-pratt-weds-james-jackson-jr-married-by-rev-dr-endicott.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=February 17, 1928}}</ref> * Phyllis Pratt (1912–1987),<ref name="PPNObit1987">{{cite news|title=Phyllis Pratt Nitze|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/28/obituaries/phyllis-pratt-nitze.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=June 28, 1987|language=en}}</ref> who married Paul Henry Nitze, the Secretary of the Navy and Deputy Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson.<ref name="Berger2004">{{cite news|last1=Berger|first1=Marilyn|title=Paul H. Nitze, Missile Treaty Negotiator and Cold War Strategist, Dies at 97|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/21/politics/paul-h-nitze-missile-treaty-negotiator-and-cold-war-strategist.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=October 21, 2004}}</ref> * Edwin Howard Baker Pratt (1913–1975),<ref name="EHBPObit1975">{{cite news|title=Edwin H. B. Pratt|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/21/archives/edwin-hb-pratt.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=March 21, 1975}}</ref> the headmaster of Browne & Nichols school,<ref name="1949Appointment">{{cite news|title=Headmaster Appointed – Edwin H. B. Pratt Is Named by the Browne & Nichols School|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/05/12/archives/headmaster-appointed-edwin-h-b-pratt-is-named-by-the-browne-nichols.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=May 12, 1949}}</ref> who married Aileen Kelly.<ref name="1935Engagement">{{cite news |title=Miss Aileen Kelly Engaged to Be Wed – Massachusetts Girl to Become Bride of Edwin Pratt, Son of Ruth Baker Pratt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/09/archives/miss-aileen-kelly-engaged-to-be-wed-massachusetts-girl-to-become.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 9, 1935}}</ref>

==Death== Pratt died on August 23, 1965, at the family house and estate, Manor House, Glen Cove, Long Island;<ref name="house"/><ref name="1930Estate">{{cite news |title=Mrs. Pratt Acquires Locust Valley tract – Purchase by Member of Congress Brings Long Island Estate to More Than 1,000 Acres |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/08/01/archives/mrs-pratt-acquires-locust-valley-tract-purchase-by-member-of.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=August 1, 1930}}</ref><ref name="1949Robbery">{{cite news |title=Pratt Home Robbed of $30,000 in Jewels; Thieves' Carefulness Delays Discovery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/02/15/archives/pratt-home-robbed-of-30000-in-jewels-thieves-carefulness-delays.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=February 15, 1949}}</ref> she was one day shy of her 88th birthday.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz9OB2xLGecC&pg=PA95|title=Women in Congress, 1917-2006|last=Wasniewski|first=Matthew Andrew|date=2006|publisher=Government Printing Office|pages=97|language=en|isbn=9780160767531}}</ref> She was interred at the Pratt Family Mausoleum, Old Tappan Road, Glen Cove.

==Descendants== Through her eldest son John, she was a grandmother of Mary Christy Pratt (1923–1960), who was married to Bayard Cutting Auchincloss (1922–2001), the nephew of U.S. Representative James C. Auchincloss, in 1950,<ref name="1950Engagement"/><ref name="1987AuchinclossWedding">{{cite news|title=James G. Auchincloss, A Law Student, And Kristin Morris Delafield Are Wed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/19/style/james-g-auchincloss-a-law-student-and-kristin-morris-delafield-are-wed.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=July 19, 1987|language=en}}</ref> and Ruth Pratt, who in 1962 married U.S. State Department aide, R. Campbell James, a Groton and Yale graduate who was a stepson of architect Harrie T. Lindeberg.<ref name="1962Wedding">{{cite news |title=Miss Ruth Pratt And R.C. James Are Wed on L.I.; Father Escorts Bride at Marriage to Aide of State Department |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/15/archives/miss-ruth-pratt-and-rc-james-are-wed-on-li-father-escorts-bride-at.html |access-date=February 3, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=September 15, 1962}}</ref> Through her daughter Phyllis, she was a grandmother of William A. Nitze of Washington, DC, the chairman of Oceana Technologies and Clearpath Technologies, who married Ann Kendall Richards, an independent art dealer.<ref name="2013NitzeWedding">{{cite news|title=Jane Kucera and Paul Nitze|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/fashion/weddings/jane-kucera-and-paul-nitze.html|access-date=April 25, 2018|work=The New York Times|date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> She was also, through her daughter Phyllis, the great grandmother of Nicholas Thompson, the CEO of The Atlantic. Through her youngest son Edwin, she was a grandmother to singer-songwriter Andy Pratt.

==See also== * Women in the United States House of Representatives

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{commons category|Ruth Baker Pratt}} {{bioguide}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=New York| district=17 | before=William W. Cohen | after= Theodore A. Peyser | years=1929&ndash;1933 }} {{s-end}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 71st-72nd United States Congress |state=New York}} {{USCongRep/NY/71}} {{USCongRep/NY/72}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Ruth Baker}} Category:1877 births Category:1965 deaths Category:People from Ware, Massachusetts Category:Wellesley College alumni Category:Female United States representatives Category:New York City Council members Category:Politicians from Glen Cove, New York Ruth Baker Category:Republican Party United States representatives from New York (state) Category:Women New York City Council members Category:1920 United States presidential electors Category:20th-century United States representatives Category:20th-century American women politicians