Phoebe Couzins

Phoebe Couzins (September 8, 1842 – December 6, 1913) was one of the first female lawyers in the United States and the first female appointed to the U.S. Marshal service.

In 1871, Couzins graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, becoming the first woman in the United States to graduate from a law school. Establishing a practice in St. Louis, she wrote articles for Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B Anthony's publication, "The Revolution." Then, instead of practicing law, she rose to prominence as a suffragist. Like Stanton and Anthony, she opposed the Fifteenth Amendment. Couzins was described as a riveting orator and lectured across the United States. In 1884, she testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the legal status of women. In 1887, Couzins became the first female U.S. Marshal in the country.

Couzins died in St. Louis on December 6, 1913 and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery.

In 2000 Susan Frelich Appleton, J.D., was installed as the inaugural Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law at the Washington University school of law.