Washington HistoryMakers Biographical Database

A new HistoryMakers Biographical Database has appeared as part of the Legacy Project on the Secretary of State's website.
Built by volunteers, the database contains information about:

• governors and lieutenant governors
• secretaries of state
• treasurers
• U.S. Senators and Representatives
• and selected other elected officials

The database is a word in progress, so expect its size and scope to increase over time.

Here is an image of the first part of the entry for Washington State's first female governor, Dixy Lee Ray. Additional information includes offices held, awards, and links to other online sources.

Search by first and last name of a known individual or browse by names under Office, Party Affiliation, or Field.

For instance, I chose the Education field and searched "washington law." The search retrieved nine entries, including:

• former State Senator Frank Atwood, Jr. (UW Law 1951)
• Court of Appeals Judge Mary Kay Becker (UW Law 1982)
• King County Superior Court Judge Jeanette Ruth Berleen Burrage (UW Law 1989)
• Lieutenant Governor "Wee" Coyle (UW Law 1912)
• Chief Justice James Dolliver (UW Law 1952)
• Governor Booth Gardner (UW Law 1959)
• former State Senator Bill Gissberg (UW Law 1948)
• former State Representative Ann T. O'Donnell (no date)
• former U.S. Representative Thor Carl Tollefson (UW Law 1930)

Photo credit: Snippet image of Dixy Lee Ray's entry in the HistoryMaker database, visited Feb. 27, 2012.