Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Hulett, Alta M.

HULETT, Alta M., lawyer, b. near Rockford, Ill., 4 June, 1854; d. in California, 27 March, 1877. She learned telegraphy when only ten years of age, and for some time was a successful operator. Subsequently she taught, and employed her leisure in the study of law. In 1872 she passed the required examination and applied for admission to the bar, but was rejected on account of her sex. She then bent her energies toward securing the passage of a bill through the state legislature, giving all women, whether married or single, the right to practise law. Succeeding in this, she went to Chicago, where she spent a year in an office, after which she was again examined, admitted to the bar, and began the practice of her profession.