Ada Bittenbender

Ada Matilda Cole Bittenbender (August 3, 1848 – December 15, 1925) was an American lawyer and feminist activist. She became the first woman admitted to practice before the Nebraska Supreme Court and the third woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Early life Ada Matilda Cole was born in Asylum Township, Pennsylvania on August 3, 1848. Her father was Daniel Cole, an inventor, and her mother was Emily A. Madison. She graduated from Lowell's Commercial College in Binghamton, New York in 1869 and from the Pennsylvania State Normal School at Bloomsburg in 1875. After teaching for one year, she attended the Froebel Normal Institute in Washington, D.C. from 1876 to 1877. After graduation, she worked as principal of the Pennsylvania State Normal School for a year before resigning for health reasons. In 1891, Bittenbender was nominated for Judge of the Supreme Court of Nebraska.

Later life In her later years, Bittenbender retired from law and devoted herself to philosophical studies. She died at her sister's home in Lincoln on December 15, 1925.