Maryland’s Leading Lady

A Century Ago, an Outgoing Entomology Major Became UMD’s First Four-Year Female Grad

One hundred years ago, when women in the United States were granted the right to vote, a female Terp was also blazing a trail.

In 1920, entomology major Elizabeth Hook became the first woman to earn a degree for four years of study at Maryland State College, renamed that year the University of Maryland.

Between “madly chasing bugs” during her studies, as her senior page in the yearbook read, she reported for the student paper, Maryland State Review, served as class secretary and helped form the institution’s first sorority chapter.

More women soon followed “Lisbeth,” as her peers fondly called her, and by her senior year, 21 other women were enrolled at Maryland.

“It is due to her courage and rare personality,” the yearbook reads, “that Maryland State is co-educational.”