Zella White Stewart
Zella White Stewart was a force in both medicine and politics in Iowa City at a time when women rarely stood out in either field.
She and her husband, George Walter Stewart, moved to Iowa City in 1910. In addition to being a respected allergist, Stewart also became active in social endeavors.
She started the Iowa City League of Voters in 1920 and was a charter member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, the Iowa City Women’s Club and the University Club.
She also was the first woman to drive a car in Iowa City.
Her husband was the head of the University of Iowa physics department and their house was used for several years as a house for students of all nationalities.
Stewart started the League of Women voters in Iowa City after attending a meeting of the National American Women Suffrage Association in Chicago.
With the passing of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the National American Woman Suffrage Association evolved into the National League of Woman voters.
Iowa City’s League of Women Voters was the first of its kind in Iowa, founded as a nonpartisan women’s political organization.
Its purpose was to provide a forum for women to come together to discuss politics in order to make them more informed voters.
For the last two decades of her medical career, Stewart specialized in the study and treatment of allergies. She authored many professional papers in this field and was a member of both the American Association for the Study of Allergies and the International Correspondence Club for the Study of Allergy.