Biographical Database of NAWSA Suffragists, 1890–1920
Biography of Anna Elizabeth Rude, 1875-1960
By Hailey Hoyt, Student
University of California, Santa Barbara
Treasurer, College Equal Suffrage League of Northern California
Anna Elizabeth Rude was born on September 3, 1875. According to 1940 census data, she lived throughout the California region during her lifetime, residing in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. She attended Cooper Medical School, now Stanford's Medical School. After attending college, she married Alfred Braa on August 29, 1911, in Alameda, California. Rude died on June 20, 1960, in San Francisco.
Anna Rude was a Northern California based doctor who specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. According to the 1911-1912 Cooper Medical College Report published by Stanford University, Rude interned at the Children's Hospital of San Francisco from 1906-1907, was an Assistant Resident Physician at Fabiola Hospital in Oakland in 1907, served as an assistant in gynecology at Cooper Medical College, aided in obstetrics at Cooper Medical College in 1912, and was in charge of their General Clinic. She also participated in a baby feeding clinic and other associated charities in the San Francisco area since 1909. Rude also published and edited many medical journals, articles, and reports throughout her career.
In addition to her work as a doctor, Anna Rude was an active participant in the College Equal Suffrage League of Northern California. The League was created in 1909 by college women to educate others on suffrage issues. Rude served as the Treasurer of the organization starting in 1911 after the suffrage amendment was submitted. In addition to balancing the organization's finances, Rude frequently participated in propaganda events on behalf of the League. According to Sunset Magazine, Rude, along with other members, canvassed Northern California, particularly Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco on foot and occasionally by automobile with handbills and pamphlets about the amendment.
Rude was also involved in national politics. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article published June 29, 1920, Anna Rude was in attendance at the Democratic National Convention. At the convention Rude was one of the representatives of the Women Voters' League. The League was announcing that it would not develop into an independent political party and urged "members to enroll in the party of their choice." Additionally, they announced trust in the Democratic party, stating loyalty based upon "the spirit of fairness which is so evident in this convention that [their] platform will be incorporated in the platform of the Democratic party."
Image from Sunset: The Magazine of the Pacific and of All the Far West, Volume 27, Southern Pacific Company, 1911.
Sources:
Annual Registrar. Report no. 21. Stanford University. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, 1912. 31.
"Chairman of Women Voters' League Here." 1920.San Francisco Chronicle (1869-Current File), Jun 29, 6. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/docview/576819769?accountid=14522
"College Suffragists Hold Annual Meeting." 1911. San Francisco Chronicle (1869-Current File), May 07, 41. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/docview/573965877?accountid=14522
"Country Children Help the Cripples." 1904. San Francisco Chronicle (1869-Current File), Jul 07, 5.https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/docview/576186428?accountid=14522.
Herrick Wall, Louise. "Moving to Amend." Sunset: The Magazine of the Pacific and of All the Far West, 1911.
"Machinery Exhibition." 1913.San Francisco Chronicle (1869-Current File), Feb 02, 46. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/docview/574165671?accountid=14522.
Muncy, Robyn, hoyt"Women, Gender, and Politics in the New Deal Government: Josephine Roche and the Federal Security Agency." Journal of Women's History 21, no. 3 (2009): 60-83. https://muse.jhu.edu/ (accessed April 19, 2018).
"Overseas Club Holds Celebration." 1920. San Francisco Chronicle (1869-Current File), Aug 27, 12. https://search-proquest-com.proxy.library.ucsb.edu:9443/docview/576839842?accountid=14522
Rude, Anna E. Physical Status of Preschool Children. Report no. 111. U.S. Department of Labor. Washington D.C.: Department of Labor.
Rude, Anna E. "The Children's Year Campaign," American Journal of Public Health 9, no. 5 (May 1, 1919): pp. 346-51.
Rude, Anna E., "The Midwife Problem in the United States," JAMA. 1923;81(12):987–992.doi:10.1001/jama.1923.02650120019006
Rude, Anna E., "The Sheppard-Towner Act in Relation to Public Health," Journal of the American Medical Association. 1922;79(12):959–964. doi:10.1001/jama.1922.02640120033012
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