Zatae Leola Longsdorff Straw

Zatae Leola Sturgis Longsdorff Straw (April 16, 1866 – October 1, 1955) was a physician and a New Hampshire state representative.

Early life and education Zatae Leola Sturgis Longsdorff was born in Centerville, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1866, the daughter of Dr. William Henry Longsdorff and his wife Lydia. Longsdorff grew up near Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

She attended Wellesley College in 1883. The next year Longsdorff enrolled at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania to study medicine, and was the first woman to graduate from that institution in 1887. She won the Pierson Prize in Oratory in 1886. Her father before her graduated from the same college in 1856 and her brother in 1879. After her, her sisters Hildegarde, Jessica and Persis attended Dickinson College as well, graduating in 1888, 1891 and 1894 respectively. In 1937, Dickinson College granted Longsdorff an honorary degree in science.