Reva Beck Bosone photograph collection, 1930-1977

Reva Zilpha Beck Bosone (1895-1983) was a Utah attorney, judge, and politician. She was the first woman to represent the State of Utah in the United States House of Representatives, as well as the first woman elected as a judge in Utah, and the first woman to serve as the Majority Floor Leader in the Utah legislature.

Bosone was born 1895 April 2, in American Fork, Utah Territory to Zilpha Ann Chipman and Christian Beck. She graduated from Westminster College in 1917, and from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in 1919. On 1920 September 25, Bosone married Harold George Cutler in American Fork, Utah. The couple separated in 1921. From 1920 to 1927, Bosone taught high school in Delta, Utah and then Ogden, Utah, teaching public speaking, debate, and dramatic arts. In 1927, Bosone left teaching to attend the University of Utah College of Law. On 1929 October 8, she married law school classmate Joseph Peter Bosone. The couple had one daughter in 1930, and later divorced in 1939.

In 1930, Reva graduated from the University of Utah College of Law and was admitted to the state bar. In 1931, Bosone established a law firm with her then husband, known as Bosone and Bosone, with offices in Price, Utah and Helper, Utah. Bosone gained notoriety from her work as a lawyer, and in 1932, she was elected to represent Carbon County in the Utah House of Representatives. She was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1933 to 1935, serving as Majority Floor Leader of the House in 1935. While in the legislature, Bosone sponsored many bills pertaining to labor laws, liquor laws, and safety provisions of trains and automobiles, as well as an amendment that established a minimum wage for women and children.

In 1936, Bosone became the first woman elected as a judge in Utah, serving on the Salt Lake City bench until 1949 with her election to the U.S. House of Representatives. During World War II, she was chairman of Women's Army Corps Civilian Advisory Committee of the Ninth Service Command. In the 1940s, Bosone hosted her own weekly radio show on KDLY called Her Honor, the Judge, in which she presented legal case studies. She served as official observer at the United Nations Conference at San Francisco in 1945, and was the first director of Utah State Board for Education on Alcoholism in 1947 and 1948.

From 1949 to 1953, Bosone served two terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah, making her the first woman elected to congress from Utah. While in office, Bosone became the first woman to serve on the Interior Committee. From 1949 to 1951, Bosone served on the Public Lands Committee. From 1951 to 1953, she also served on the House Administration Committee. Her congressional career consisted of several attempts to improve the citizenship of Native Americans and reinstate conservation efforts. She sponsored legislation to improve funding for forest and national park services, and to build dams on Utah rivers for the improvement of water supply to Utah and surrounding states. Bosone also advocated for social welfare programs including extending social security for military personnel, and voted against the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950.

From 1952 to 1956, Bosone served as delegate to Democratic National Conventions. She resumed the practice of law in Salt Lake City from 1953 to 1957, and was legal counsel to the Safety and Compensation Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and Labor from 1957 to 1960. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy named Bosone the U.S. Post Office Department's judicial officer and chair of its contract board of appeals. She held these posts until her retirement in January 1968.

While living in Washington D.C., Bosone took part in many political and social movements of the decade. She voiced support for the Equal Rights Amendment, remained involved in many democratic women's clubs, and spoke on behalf of women at democratic conventions and meetings regularly.

In 1970, the University of California, Berkeley awarded Bosone a Distinguished Service in Government award. In 1973, Westminster College awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. In 1977, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Utah. Alongside two other women, Bosone was also awarded the first annual Susa Young Gates Award, in 1973, for her work in raising the status of women in Utah. In 1977, KUTV aired a special documentary titled Her Honor, the Judge, covering Bosone's career as an attorney, politician, judge, and advocate.

Reva Zilpha Beck Bosone died on 1983 July 21.

Sources: House Office of History and Preservation and Senate Office of the Historian. (n.d.). Bosone, Reva Zilpha Beck. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/B000649

Price, Gabi. (n.d.). Reva Beck Bosone: Utah's First Woman Judge & Congresswoman. Utah Women's History/Better Days. https://utahwomenshistory.org/the-women/reva-beck-bosone/