Florence Jaffray Harriman

Florence Jaffray Daisy Harriman was an American socialite, suffragist, social reformer, organizer, and diplomat. She led one of the suffrage parades down Fifth Avenue, worked on campaigns on child labor and safe milk and, as minister to Norway in World War II, organized evacuation efforts while hiding in a forest from the Nazi invasion. In her ninetysecond year, U.S. President John F. Kennedy honored her by awarding her the first Citation of Merit for Distinguished Service. She often found herself in the middle of historic events. As she stated, I think nobody can deny that I have always had through sheer luck a box seat at the America of my times.

Harriman was born Florence Jaffray Hurst on July 21, 1870 in New York City to shipping magnate F.W.J. Hurst and his wife Caroline. When she was three years old, her mother, then 29, died. She and her two sisters were raised in and around New York City by her father and maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Somerville Jaffray. At age six, she watched her first political torchlight parade, part of the 1876 presidential campaign. She later told of leaning over the bannister of her home at 615 Fifth Avenue, to hear visitors such as John Hay, President James A. Garfield, and President Chester A. Arthur.

Source: Wikipedia