Alice Rufie Jordan Blake (10 October 1864 - 29 November 1893) was the first female graduate of Yale University. After application and rejection from several other schools, she was able to enter Yale's law program after discovering that school regulations did not explicitly forbid female applicants.
Video Alice Blake
Early life
Alice Rufie Jordan was born in Norwalk, Ohio. After graduation from high school at the age of sixteen, she became the University of Michigan's youngest entrant to the literature program. At the age of 20, she entered the University of Michigan Law School, and before graduation passed the court test (an early type of bar exam) that enabled her to practice law in the state of Michigan.
Maps Alice Blake
Time at Yale
Wanting to continue her studies, Jordan applied to Columbia Law School and Harvard Law School in 1885. After unequivocal rejection from both, she applied to Yale using her initials. When she arrived to register, she was faced with opposition but was able to point out that nowhere in the regulations was there a provision against female applicants. After a year of study, she graduated with a bachelor's of law in 1886. At the meeting among administrators to determine eligibility to graduate, it was permitted; however, a note was included in the minutes stating that future applicants to all Yale schools were to be male unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Marriage and Death
Jordan married fellow lawyer George D. Blake in 1888, and moved to Seattle, Washington. She had been interviewed stating her desire to practice law even after her marriage. Jordan Blake died at the age of 29 in Chicago, Illinois in 1893.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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