Annie Webb Blanton
Argyle, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
ANNIE WEBB BLANTON, BORN AUG. 19, 1870 IN HOUSTON TO THOMAS LINDSEY AND EUGENIA WEBB BLANTON, BEGAN HER TEACHING CAREER AT PINE SPRINGS SCHOOL (FAYETTE CO.) AT AGE 17. SHE THEN TAUGHT FOR A FEW YEARS IN AUSTIN, WHERE SHE GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. IN 1901, BLANTON BEGAN HER 17-YEAR TEACHING CAREER AS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT NORTH TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE (NOW UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS) WHERE SHE PROMOTED GENDER UNITY, PUBLISHED GRAMMAR EXERCISE BOOKS WHICH WERE USED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND ASSISTED IN NUMEROUS SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. BLANTON IS REMEMBERED FOR BECOMING THE FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION IN 1916 AND THE FIRST WOMAN ELECTED TO A STATE OFFICE AS THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN 1918. IN 1921, DENTON COUNTY HONORED BLANTON FOR CONTRIBUTIONS IN EDUCATION WHEN IT NAMED THE COUNTY’S CONSOLIDATED HAWK AND CHINN’S CHAPEL SCHOOLS THE ANNIE BLANTON SCHOOL DISTRICT. IN 1922, AFTER SERVING A SECOND TERM AS STATE SUPERINTENDENT, SHE RAN AS A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE THIRTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BUT CAME IN THIRD. SHE EARNED A MASTER’S DEGREE IN 1923, FOLLOWED BY A DOCTORATE IN 1927, AND WAS MADE AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND CHAIR OF THE RURAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. IN 1933, BLANTON WAS PROMOTED TO A FULL PROFESSOR. IN ADDITION, SHE IS NOTED FOR BEING A MEMBER OF NUMEROUS PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND FOR HELPING FOUND THE DELTA KAPPA GAMMA SOCIETY IN 1929. BLANTON DIED OCT. 2, 1945 AND CONTINUES TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR HER LEADERSHIP, COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION AND NUMEROUS ACHIEVEMENTS IN OFFICES THAT HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN HELD BY WOMEN.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Houston in 1870, Annie Webb Blanton began teaching at 17 and rose to become an associate professor at North Texas State Normal College, where she wrote grammar textbooks used across the country. In 1916 she became the first woman president of the Texas State Teachers Association, and in 1918 she made history as the first woman elected to statewide office in Texas, serving as State Superintendent of Public Instruction. She later earned a doctorate, became a full professor, and helped found the Delta Kappa Gamma Society honoring women educators.
Why it matters
Blanton broke a barrier no Texas woman had crossed, winning statewide office two years before the 19th Amendment and championing education and the standing of women teachers nationwide.
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Related people
- · Annie Webb Blanton
Related events
- · Delta Kappa Gamma Society
Themes & tags
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