Mary Gardiner Jones

Mary Gardiner Jones (December 10, 1920 – December 23, 2009) was the first woman to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, to which she was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Biography Born in Manhattan to a distinguished Long Island family. Jones graduated from the Nightengale-Bamford School in 1939 and received a B.A. in history from Wellesley College in 1943. She worked for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, where she was a research analyst in charge of the Swiss desk. initially through a recess appointment and subsequently through a Senate confirmation. She was replaced on the FTC 1973 by Elizabeth Hanford (later Elizabeth Dole).

In 1971, she was named as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Jones was a vocal consumer advocate. Jones became a member of the Democratic Party later in life. In the book, she discusses the difficulty of breaking into the legal professional in the 1940s, during a time when few female graduates were offered roles as practicing attorneys.

Jones died from congestive heart failure at her home in Washington, D.C., on December 23, 2009, at the age of 89.