Carrie Lane Chapman Catt

Born Carrie Clinton Lane in Ripon, Wisconsin, and raised in Iowa, she trained as a teacher, briefly studied law, and was appointed a high school principal a year after graduation from Iowa State College. In 1883, two years later, she became Superintendent of Schools in Mason City. She married newspaper editor and publisher Leo Chapman, but in 1885, just after moving to California, he died, leaving his new wife to make her own way. She found work as a newspaper reporter.
She soon joined the woman suffrage movement as a lecturer, moved back to Iowa where joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association, and in 1890 was a delegate at the newly formed National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Marriage and Suffrage Work:
In 1890 she married wealthy engineer George W. Catt whom she had originally met in college and then met again during her time in San Francisco. They signed a prenuptial agreement which guaranteed her two months in the spring and two in the fall for her suffrage work. He supported her in these efforts, considering that his role in the marriage was to earn their living and hers was to reform society. They had no children.

Her leadership was key in the final passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920: without the state reforms -- an increased number of states in which women could vote in primary elections and regular elections -- the 1920 victory could not have been won.

Carrie Chapman Catt was also one of the founders of the Women's Peace Party during World War I, helped to organize the League of Women Voters after the passage of the 19th Amendment (she served the League as honorary president until her death). She also supported the League of Nations after World War I and the founding of the United Nations after World War II. Between the wars, she worked for Jewish refugee relief efforts and for child labor protection laws. When her husband died, she went to live with a long-time friend, suffragist Mary Garrett Hay. They moved to New Rochelle, New York, where Catt died in 1947.

When measuring the organizational contributions of the many workers for woman suffrage, most would credit Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone with the most influence in winning the vote for American women. The effect of this victory was then felt worldwide, as women in other nations were inspired directly and indirectly to win the vote for themselves.

Source

Read more about her here, here and here.