Reva Beck Bosone

Reva Zilpha Beck Bosone (April 2, 1895 – July 21, 1983) was an American attorney and politician. She was a U.S. Representative from Utah for two terms from 1949 to 1953.

She was the first woman elected to Congress from Utah.

Early life and education Born in American Fork in the Utah Territory, the daughter of a Danish immigrant father, Bosone attended public schools and graduated from high school in 1915. She graduated from Westminster Junior College in 1917 and from the University of California at Berkeley in 1919. She taught high school 1920–1927. She graduated from the University of Utah College of Law at Salt Lake City in 1930 and was admitted to the bar the same year. Bosone was the 14th woman admitted to the Utah State Bar.

Career She then practiced law in Helper, Utah, from 1931 to 1933 and Salt Lake City from 1933 to 1936. She served as member of the State house of representatives 1933–1935, serving as floor leader in 1935.

Bosone was elected Salt Lake City judge in 1936 and served until elected to Congress. During the Second World War, she was chairman of Women's Army Corps Civilian Advisory Committee of the Ninth Service Command. In the 1940s, Bosone hosted her own weekly radio show on KDLY called Her Honor, the Judge, in which she presented legal case studies. She served as official observer at the United Nations Conference at San Francisco in 1945 and as the first director of Utah State Board for Education on Alcoholism in 1947 and 1948.

Congress Bosone was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-first and Eighty-second Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953). While in office, Bosone advocated for social welfare programs including extending Social Security for military personnel, and voted against the Subversive Activities Control and Communist Registration Act. In 1949–1951 Bosone served on the Public Lands Committee, and in 1951–1953 she also served on the House Administration Committee.

Death She was a resident of Vienna, Virginia, until her death there July 21, 1983.