On This Day In Alabama History: Alva Belmont Born In Mobile

By Graydon Rust Alabama 200

January 17, 1853

Women’s suffrage leader Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont was born in Mobile. The daughter of a cotton merchant, Belmont eventually joined the highest rungs of New York society through marriages into the wealthy Vanderbilt and Belmont families. Belmont later used that wealth and status to promote a radical approach to suffrage reform that included sponsored parades, mass meetings and pro-strike rallies. She joined the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1914 and spent much of her time organizing special events and fundraising for a wide range of women’s rights across international borders. In 2016, President Barack Obama designated the NWP’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in honor of Belmont and suffragist Alice Paul.

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