Kathryn Van Leuven

Born in Arkansas, Kathryn Van Leuven's interest in law started while working at her father's law office. She studied at the University of Chicago before meeting her husband, Bert. The couple moved to Indian Territory in 1904 where their son, Kermit, was born and Kathryn helped Bert with his law practice.

In 1913 Van Leuven reportedly passed the bar exam with the highest score of those attending. Following a divorce, she opened her own law office. In 1915 Van Leuven was strongly endorsed for the position of assistant attorney of Nowata County and she became the first female prosecutor in Oklahoma. After her time in Nowata County, she was appointed as the first female assistant attorney general (AAG) in Oklahoma in 1920. She served for five years as AAG and was a part of the investigations of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. She spoke out in reports and letters about the police's part in the massacre and the major role they played in the devastation.

After completing her time as AAG she returned to private practice and, in 1930, she opened the first mother-and-son law firm in the United States. Her plethora of accomplishments include working as legal staff for the Oklahoma Security Commission after the creation of the Social Security system in 1935; creating the model for the Federal Food Stamp Distribution Plan in 1939; and writing the first law that made deserting a child a felony. She spent the remainder of her life and legal practice trying to make Oklahoma a better place for all.