Kate Barnard
Kate Barnard | |
|---|---|
| 1st Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections | |
| In office 1907–1915 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | William D. Matthews |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Catherine Ann Barnard May 23, 1875 Geneva, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1930 (aged 54) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Occupation | Social reformer, politician, teacher |
| Known for | First woman elected to statewide office in Oklahoma |
Catherine Ann "Kate" Barnard (May 23, 1875 – February 23, 1930) was the first woman to be elected as a state official in Oklahoma, and the eleventh woman to be elected to a statewide public office in the United States, in 1907. All ten prior elected women were elected to Superintendent of Public Instruction in four states (ND: Emma Bates and Laura Eisenhuth; ID: Mae Scott, Permeal French and Belle Chamberlain; CO; Katherine Craig, Helen Grenfell, Grace Patton, Angenette Peavey; WY: Estelle Reel). She served as the first Oklahoma Commissioner of Charities and Corrections for two four-year terms, the only position that the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution permitted a woman to hold.
Before being elected to office, Barnard had worked as a teacher and in clerical patronage positions in the territorial government. She was also heavily involved in charity work.