Laura Lyon White

Laura Lyon White (April 12, 1839 – January 18, 1916) was an American activist, best known for founding the California Club, working to preserve groves of redwoods in California, and promoting the City Beautiful movement. She wrote several pieces for the Overland Monthly in the later years of the 19th-century and was an ardent suffragist.

White brought pragmatism to the causes that she championed. Working in an era when women had not yet secured the right to vote, she used her affluence and social status to accomplish her goals and to promote the protection of nature and the improvement of life for city dwellers. Unlike John Muir, White did not draw a sharp distinction between natural and urban beauty, and she saw a place for economic development, so long as its excesses were moderated. She "was willing to abide by the social norms of her time while nevertheless using those norms to further her own aims," and hence moved forward the responsibility and influence of women in public life.