Born in Illinois in 1860, Jane Addams was the daughter of a very wealthy man. After her mother died, she was raised by a step-mother and her father with numerous siblings. Jane was expected to receive a good education and her father sent her to the Rockford Seminary which was an all-girls school.

Deciding that she would be most interested in pursuing medicine, Jane graduated from Rockford. Her parents weren't particularly thrilled with her decision and wanted Jane to be more interested in a domestic life with the prospect of marriage and children.

Addams was sent to tour Europe which is what her parents encouraged to give Jane every opportunity to discover someone appropriate for marriage. When she came home, her father died soon after her reappearance in the states. Jane became more and more depressed after her father's death feeling that she had somehow let him down. It was around this time that she had surgery to correct a back problem and the surgery left her to wear a harness for over a year with limited mobility.

After another trip to Europe, Jane Addams returned with a mission in mind. She set up what became known as the Hull House in the Chicago area. The Hull House served as a medical facility and provided hot meals and child care. During the depression in 1893, the Hull House served over two thousand people per week in various capacities.

In 1911, Addams became the first vice-president of the National American Women Suffrage Association. By 1912, she was a supporter of the Progressive Party and later organized the Women's Peace Party.

Jane Addams became instrumental in various political movements while supporting the underprivileged through her Hull House efforts. Her committed life to serve others won her various honors, medals and awards. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 and died four years later.