Lucile Atcherson Curtis

Lucile Atcherson Curtis (1894–1986) was the first woman in what became the U.S. Foreign Service. Specifically, she was the first woman appointed as a United States Diplomatic Officer or Consular Officer, in 1923; the U.S. would not establish the unified Foreign Service until 1924, at which time Diplomatic and Consular Officers became Foreign Service Officers.

Biography Curtis, née Atcherson, was born on October 11, 1894, in Columbus, Ohio. She attended Columbus School for Girls and completed her coursework there at the age of 14.

Curtis graduated from Smith College in 1913 and later did graduate and research work at Ohio State University and the University of Chicago. Columbus, Ohio celebrated a day in her honor the same year. Lucile Atcherson Curtis died on March 6, 1986.

Legacy Lucile's papers are held at the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University.