Edith Spurlock Sampson
October 13, 1901 – October 8, 1979
She was the first woman to earn a law degree from Loyola University of Chicago, the first black person appointed a United States delegate to the United Nations, and the first black woman elected as a judge in Illinois.
Education:
Peabody High School
The New York School of Social Work
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
The John Marshall Law School
She passed away in Chicago on October 8, 1979 at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital at the age of 81.
Edith was a member of the Chicago Bar Association, National Bar Association, National Association of Women Lawyers, National Council of Negro Women (former chair of executive committee and committee on international relations), League of Women Voters.
Honors and Awards:
Recipient of several honorary degrees.
Edith Spurlock Sampson Apartments in her honor
is a 394 unit senior building in Lincoln Park.
The building was named to honor Edith Spurlock Sampson, an American lawyer and judge, and the first Black U.S. delegate appointed to the United Nations. The age-restricted development includes two 11-story high-rise elevator buildings with 394 studio and one bedroom homes. The development was formerly known as Lincoln and Sheffield Apartments and Annex and was built in 1965.