May 27 was the birth date of one of this country’s most important historical figures, but one often overlooked. Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) was a prominent abolitionist, social activist, agitator for women’s right to vote, poet and the author of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

By founding an all-women study club in Boston, the New England Women’s Club, in 1868, at virtually the same time that another proponent of these clubs did the same in New York City, she helped to launch a movement – the Women’s Club Movement – which, in its turn, was the beginning of so much progress in this country.

The first of these study clubs was founded before women could vote or apply to most colleges. As Howe envisioned them, they were a way for women to educate themselves and also do some municipal housekeeping, such as helping to found the first library in their town. Surprisingly, there are still at least 100 of these historic groups left, still meeting today.

Howe’s early life was greatly controlled by her husband, an otherwise enlightened doctor and reformer, Samuel Gridley Howe, who was dead set against her writings and against her appearing in public.

After his death in 1876, she enjoyed the freedom of the following 34 years – supporting herself and speaking on the causes near and dear to her heart.

She was also the mother of seven. Two of her daughters wrote her biography after her death, winning the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1917. At her memorial service, the 4,000 attendees sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in honor of her and her service to our country.

Ann Dodds Costello

Owls Head