Davidow, Ruth (1911–1999)
Davidow, Ruth (1911–1999)
Russian-born American nurse and political activist. Born in Volkavisk, Russia, Sept 11, 1911; died June 28, 1999, in San Francisco; grew up in New York City; m. Fred Keller; children: 1 daughter.
With the start of the civil war in Spain (1936), volunteered to go there as a nurse, working with the medical staff of the American volunteer unit, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; worked at a front-line hospital during the Ebro offensive of 1938; returning to US, remained active in radical politics and emerged as a leading personality on the West Coast; was active in San Francisco in organizing public protests against racism, sexism, the Vietnam War, and the House Un-American Activities Committee; in 1980s, engaged with groups demanding American initiatives on a nuclear weapons freeze.