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Biography of Edith SampsonName: Edith SampsonBirth Date: October 13, 1901 Death Date: October 8, 1979 Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Nationality: American Gender: Female Occupations: social worker, attorney, judge, civil rights advocate Edith Sampson Edith Sampson (c. 1901-1979) became America's first African American female judge after succeeding as a social worker, a lawyer, and an international advocate for democracy and free market trade. As a representative of the State Department during the Cold War, Sampson traveled around the world, defending the United States against Soviet propaganda. As a judge, she was known as a compassionate, efficient, and powerful mediator.Trained as Social WorkerSampson was born Edith Spurlock in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 13, but the exact year is unknown. It was probably earlier than 1901, because some sources say her younger brother was born in 1900. She was one of eight children born to Louis Spurlock and Elizabeth McGruder Spurlock. Louis Spurlock was a shipping clerk in a cleaning and dying business. Elizabeth Spurlock worked at home making buckram hat frames and switches of false hair. The family worked hard, owned its own home, attended church, and obeyed …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…doesn't follow that accelerating to 150 will solve your problems. We are beginning to move. We haven't reached cruising speed yet; but we are moving toward a better America at an ever-increasing pace."Sampson received several honorary degrees, including a doctor of law degree from the John Marshall Law School. She retired from the bench in 1978. Her favorite pastimes included interior decorating, playing canasta, canning preserves, and making jelly. Although she had no children, she was very close to her nieces and nephews. Two of her nephews became judges: Oliver Spurlock of Chicago and Charles T. Spurlock of Boston. Sampson died on October 8, 1979, in Chicago. Further Reading Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 13, Gale Research, 1996.Notable Black American Women, Gale Research, 1992. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, edited by Anne Commire, Yorkin Publications, 1999.New York Times, October 11, 1979.Gordon, Kathleen E., "Edith S. Sampson," www.stanford.edu/group/WLHP/papers/edith.html (February 11, 2003). |