The Ohio Historical Markers identify, commemorate and honor the important people, places and events that have contributed to the state's rich history.

Florence Allen, born in 1884, was nicknamed "first lady of the law" for her many breakthroughs in the legal profession.
A talented musician, Allen was a music critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer while studying at the Western Reserve College for Women. In 1913, she was the first woman to receive a law degree from New York University.
Allen was a strong leader in the campaign for women's suffrage in Ohio. As soon as the 19th Amendment was ratified, she was elected to Cleveland's Court of Common Pleas, the first woman in the country to hold such a position.
She advanced to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1922, and became the first woman in the nation to sit on a state supreme court. She served 2 terms before Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1934. She was the author of many groundbreaking opinions, as well as various publications relating to justice and women's rights.
Florence Allen retired in 1965 after almost 50 years of breaking barriers.