Ada H. Kepley graduates LL.B. from Union College of Law in Chicago, becoming the first woman in the United States to earn a formal law degree.
On June 30, 1870, Ada H. Kepley received her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Union College of Law in Chicago, an institution that would later become part of Northwestern University. This graduation made her the first woman in the United States to complete a formal course of legal study and to earn a law degree from any law school.
At a time when most law training for men occurred through apprenticeships and women were broadly excluded from universities and the legal profession, Kepley’s presence in the classroom and on the graduation stage was extraordinary. She studied alongside male classmates and was reported to have graduated with honors, demonstrating that women could meet and exceed the intellectual standards of professional legal education. Her achievement preceded the admissions of other early women legal pioneers and set an important precedent for women’s entry into law school curricula.
The historical significance of this event is profound. Kepley’s degree did not immediately translate into a law license—Illinois courts still barred women from practice—but it gave reformers a concrete example to cite in debates over women’s professional rights. In subsequent years, advocates for women’s legal education and bar admission referenced her success to argue that exclusion was based on prejudice, not ability. The milestone helped spur campaigns to change licensing laws in Illinois and beyond, and it placed Kepley in the first rank of American women trailblazers in law. Her June 30, 1870 graduation thus stands as a cornerstone in the history of women’s legal education and professional equality.