Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Vivian V. Simpson (1903-1987)
MSA SC 3520-13450

Brief Biography:

Born March 16, 1903, in Washington, D.C.  Daughter of Joseph B. and Laura (Gaines) Simpson.  Attended University of Maryland; George Washington University, 1925; George Washington Univeristy Law School, LL.B., 1927.  Received the Order of the Coif, an honor for distinguished law school graduates.  Admitted to the Maryland bar and D.C. bar, 1928.  Died August 5, 1987, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Cremated.

Private law practice of Simpson & Simpson, with her brother, Joseph Simpson, in Rockville, Maryland, 1928-80s.  Co-counsel to the County Commissioners of Montgomery County, 1938-40.  Appointed by Governor Herbert O'Conor to the State Industrial Accident Commission, 1940-47 (first woman commissioner).  Vice-chair, Commission to Study Workman's Compensation Laws of Maryland.  President, Montgomery County Bar Association, 1948-49.  Appointed secretary of state by Governor William Preston Lane, Jr., 1949-51 (first woman secretary of state in Maryland).  Received the Alumnae Achievement Award, George Washington University "for notable achievement in public service," 1950.  Vice-president, Maryland State Bar Association, 1958-59; member, Judicial Appointments Committee, 1975-77.  Member, American Bar Association; American Judicature Society.  Fellow, American College of Probate Counsel. Named one of the twenty "Lawyers of the Century" in Montgomery County, Maryland, by the Maryland Bar Assocation, 1999. Inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, 2004.

Link to Extended Biography

Return to Vivian V. Simpson's Introductory Page


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