King, Charlotte Winter (1898–1969)

Charlotte Winter King (born Charlotte Lucille Winter) was active in community affairs in the Southern California community of South Pasadena from the late 1930s until her death in 1969. In 1942 she became the first woman to be elected to that city's council and subsequently also chaired the landmark Monterey Hills Redevelopment Project. Her political career is of interest because it demonstrates that one did not have to be a clubwoman or a Democrat to enjoy political success in the 1930s and 1940s.

Charlotte was born in Colville, Washington, on October 7, 1898, the second child of Thaddeus Winter and Maude Jacobs. Her mother's family was among the pioneer settlers of Pasadena, California, in 1888. Her father was a businessman and capitalist, the founder-president of the ...