OWEN, Ruth Bryan

Born 2 October 1885, Jacksonville, Illinois; died 26 July 1954, Copenhagen, Denmark

Daughter of William Jennings and Mary Baird Bryan; married William H. Leavitt, 1909; Major Reginald A. Owen, 1910; Captain Borge Rohde, 1936

Ruth Bryan Owen, Congresswoman, Minister to Denmark, lecturer, and author, was the eldest daughter of William Jennings Bryan. She was educated in public schools and at the University of Nebraska.

Forced by the illness of her second husband to support her family of four children, Owen lectured on the Chatauqua circuit and taught public speaking at the University of Miami. On the death of her husband, Owen went into politics; she was elected to Congress from 1929-1933. Appointed Minister to Denmark in 1933, Owen was the first woman ever to serve as minister to a foreign country.

Forced to tender her resignation as Minister in 1936 when she married a captain of the Danish Royal Guards, Owen returned to the U.S., where she became the best-known and best-paid platform speaker in the nation, and was a director of the American Platform Guild from its formation. Active in numerous political and world peace organizations, Owen was appointed in 1949 as an alternate delegate to the United Nations' General Assembly.

Owen's books reflect the many changes in her career. Elements of Public Speaking (1931) stressed her avowed conviction that no one is born with a silver tongue and oratory is an acquired art. She stresses the necessity for simplicity and clarity and quotes her father's teaching of his art: "The purpose of speaking is to convince. To convince, you must make the people understand…"

Leaves from a Greenland Diary (1935) is an account of Owen's travels. Mutual admiration between Owen and the peoples of Greenland sets the tone of this work.

Owen's children's books exhibit the same deceptively simple style. There is no wasted verbiage in the telling of the story of her trip around Denmark just before her appointment as Minister. Denmark Caravan (1936) sparkles with Owen's warmth and camaraderie with the people she encountered. The Castle in the Silver Wood (1939), a collection of 13 fairy tales, is equally charming for young and old. Many of the stories concern soldiers on their way home from the wars who meet witches or magical objects that test their courage. All the tales have happy endings, and no one in these fairy tales is really wicked.

Owen's increasing concern for world peace after World War II was the obvious impetus for Look Forward, Warrior (1942). Owen based her system for peace on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Although some have criticized the fuzziness of Owen's proposal, the main outlines of her work have found duplication in the actual documents of the United Nations Charter.

Like her father, Owen believed political work is visible proof of concern for one's fellow humanity. This sensible, sensitive love for her fellow human beings is most pronounced in Owen's children's books and travel works.

Other Works:

Picture Tales from Scandinavia (1939). Caribbean Caravel (1949).

Bibliography:

Chamberlin, H., A Minority of Members: Women in the U.S. Congress (1973). From Then to Now: Women and Political Participation 1900-1982 (1995). Vickers, S. P., The Life of Ruth Bryan Owen: Florida's First Congresswoman and America's First Woman Diplomat (dissertation, 1994).

Reference works:

American Women (1974). CB (1944, 1955). DAB. NCAB.

Other references:

Arguments and Hearings Before Elections Committee…Contested Election Case of William C. Lawson v. Ruth Bryan Owen from the Fourth Congressional District of Florida (1930). Florida Historical Quarterly (Spring 1999). Literary Digest (22 Sept. 1935). Newsweek (28 Sept. 1935). NYT (27 July 1954). Woman's Home Companion (Oct. 1933).

—DOROTHEA MOSLEY THOMPSON