Ida B. Wise

Ida B. Wise ( Wise; after adoption, Speakman; after first marriage, Wise; after second marriage, Smith; July 3, 1871 – February 16, 1952) was an American temperance activist, best known as the primary author of the Sheppard Bill in 1916 that imposed prohibition on Washington, D.C. She was a member of the Disciples of Christ, and was ordained as a minister, but she never served as a pastor to a congregation. She served as president of the Iowa Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) before being elected president of the national WCTU.

Early years and education

Ida Belle Wise was born in Philadelphia and raised in Hamburg, Iowa. After her father's death and mother's remarriage, she was adopted by her stepfather and took the surname Speakman.

She graduated from the University of Nebraska.

President Herbert Hoover appointed her to the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection. She was a semi-vegetarian.

Wise was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1977.