Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston (1866-1948)

US social worker and educator. She became the first woman lawyer in Kentucky in 1895. She is known for her studies exposing slum conditions and she was also instrumental in giving social work professional standing.

She was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and brought up in a prominent Southern family. Graduating from Wellesley College (Massachusetts) in 1888, she earned a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1901. In 1907 she went to live at Chicago's Hull House. She served as an administrator and teacher at the University of Chicago 1920-42 and was a founder of the Social Service Review in 1927, which she edited until her death.