Louisiana elected its first woman to Congress 51 years ago in March.

Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne was born on March 13, 1916, on a sugar plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish. She was better known as “Lindy,” a shortening of “Rolindy,” the nickname given by a nurse who thought she looked more like her father (attorney Roland Philemon Claiborne) than her mother, according to her New York Times obituary.

At a social event in 1934, a young man cut in while she was dancing. As they made their way around the floor, Thomas Hale Boggs said, “I’m going to marry you someday.”

That prediction held true, and the couple married in New Roads in 1938. Hale Boggs was elected to Congress a short time later, in 1940. He lost in his first reelection bid, but regained the seat in 1946.

Hale Boggs, who served 14 terms in the U.S. House, was campaigning with Congressman Nick Begich in Alaska in the fall of 1972 when the plane he was riding in disappeared.

He was reelected in November, but the House officially recognized his presumed death in January and Lindy Boggs won the seat in the March special election.

Lindy Boggs used her Appropriations Committee membership to push for women’s economic concerns, like equal pay for government jobs and equal access to government business contracts. She championed historic preservation, port development, flood control and housing in her New Orleans district.

During her first term, the House banking committee was crafting an amendment to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, a lending bill banning discrimination on the basis of race, age or veteran status. She added the words “sex or marital status,” ran to a copying machine and made a copy for each member.

In her memoir, as cited in the Times obit, she recalled saying: “Knowing the members composing this committee as well as I do, I’m sure it was just an oversight that we didn’t have ‘sex’ or ‘marital status’ included. I’ve taken care of that, and I trust it meets with the committee’s approval.”

Boggs served nine terms in Congress but did not to run for reelection in 1990. In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See at the Vatican, a position she held until 2001.

“She has inspired generations of Louisianians – women and men – to answer the call of public service, no matter the odds or challenges, just as she did for decades,” former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu wrote.

Editor’s note: This piece first ran in the March 28, 2024 edition of LaPolitics Weekly.