January 12

Thaddeus Horatius Caraway was a United State Senator representing the state of Arkansas. He died in November of 1931, while still in office. On the 9th of December Governor Harvey Parnell appointed his widow, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway, to serve out the balance of Caraway’s term. In a special election held on the 12th in 1932, the people of Arkansas confirmed her appointment, making her the first woman elected to the United States Senate. She would serve in the Senate for fourteen years. Caraway consistently voted against anti-lynching legislation.