Cora Smith Eaton

Cora Eliza Smith Eaton King (September 7, 1867 – November 21, 1939) was an American suffragist, physician and mountaineer. She was the first woman in North Dakota licensed to practice medicine. She was a prominent member of Washington's suffrage movement.

Early life Cora Eliza Smith was born on September 7, 1867, in Rockford, Illinois, to Colonel Eliphaz Smith and Sara Barnes. Her family moved to the Dakota Territory and settled in Grand Forks. She attended the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she took up the cause of women's suffrage.

After her graduation in 1886, she returned to the Dakota Territory to study at the University of North Dakota. While studying at the university, she taught arithmetic, geography, spelling and handwriting. She was also the first woman to teach physical education at the University of North Dakota, as she taught a course on girl’s calisthenics.

She subsequently studied at the Boston University School of Medicine and graduated in 1892 with her M.D. After returning to Grand Forks, In 1893, she married attorney Robert A. Eaton. While in North Dakota, Smith became president of the Grand Forks Woman Suffrage Association and later the North Dakota Equal Suffrage Association. She also represented the state at the annual National American Woman Suffrage Association meeting in January 1896 and would later serve as the organization's second auditor twice. She established a medical practice in Seattle.

Smith was active in the women's movement in Washington and was the treasurer of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association. She co-authored a chapter of the organization's book, Washington Women's Cook Book, which was published in 1908. In 1909, she was responsible for carrying a pennant that read "Votes For Women" to the summit of Mount Rainier on a Mountaineers expedition.

By the end of her career, Smith was licensed to practice medicine in several U.S. states. She was married to Dr. Robert A. Eaton and also to Judson King.

Death and legacy She died on November 21, 1939, in Hollywood, California. Cora Smith Hall at the University of North Dakota was named for her in 1964.