Ada Celeste Sweet

Portrait photo from A Woman of the Century

Ada Celeste Sweet (23 February 1853 – 17 September 1928) was an American reformer and humanitarian originally from the U.S. state of Wisconsin, but subsequently from the U.S. state of Illinois. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed her United States agent for paying pensions in Chicago, the first position as disbursing officer ever given to a woman by the US government. She established a strict system of civil service reform, which made her unpopular with politicians.[1] In addition to being the founder of the ambulance system for the Chicago police,[2] she did philanthropic work, labored for governmental reforms,[3] and served as literary editor of the Chicago Tribune.

  1. ^ Lake City Publishing Company 1894, p. 609.
  2. ^ Logan 1912, p. 831.
  3. ^ Waterloo & Hanson 1896, p. 434.