Cornelia De Bey

Dr. Cornelia De Bey (May 26, 1865 – April 3, 1948) was a Progressive Era reformer, homeopathic doctor, Chicago public school administrator, labor advocate, and leader in the women's suffrage movement. She worked with the famous Hull House community of social reformers, including Jane Addams, Julia Lathrop, Alice De Wolf Kellogg, and Ellen Gates Starr. She advocated for major school administration reform, exposing corruption, advocating for more democratic decision-making, and defending the unionization of teachers.

Early life and education De Bey was born in the Dutch seaport town of Groningen. Her father, Dr. Bernardus B. De Bey, was a minister and a professor at the University of Groningen. In 1868, when Cornelia was three years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, so that Bernardus could serve as minister to the First Reformed Church of Chicago, a Dutch congregation. De Bey remained in Chicago for the remainder of her life, immersing herself in the politics of the Progressive Era in Chicago.

De Bey received her education at Cook County Normal School, a teacher-training school in Illinois responsible for training Chicago's teachers. She then pursued her medical degree at the Hahnemannian Medical College in Chicago. After graduating in 1895, she began working with Jane Addams at Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago that serviced many people and neighborhoods in Chicago. The leaders and members supported the female garment industry workers during the garment industry strikes between 1910 and 1911.