15 Facts About Pauline Menes

Pauline Menes served in the Maryland House of Delegates for 40 years.

Pauline Menes was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2008.

Pauline Menes was born in New York City in 1904 and attended New York public schools.

Pauline Menes studied business economics and geography at Hunter College, graduating with a B A degree in 1945.

Pauline Menes remained active in county politics, and in 1962 ran for county Register of Wills, losing the election by a hundred votes.

Pauline Menes served as County Board of Elections Chief Clerk in 1963 and Secretary for the Democratic Steering Committee in 1966.

Pauline Menes first won a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1966, and was continually reelected until she retired in 2007.

Pauline Menes represented the 21st District, a section of northern Prince George's County which included College Park, Beltsville, and Laurel.

In 1971, Pauline Menes was the subject of a notorious joke by Thomas Hunter Lowe, then the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Pauline Menes later claimed the incident as a victory of sorts, noting that it was the first time a woman had appeared on the rostrum.

Pauline Menes founded the Women's Network of the National Conference of State Legislatures in 1977 and served as its president until 1979.

Pauline Menes led the Maryland delegation to the National Women's Conference in 1977 and served as president of the National Order of Women Legislators from 1979 to 1980.

Pauline Menes chaired the Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse from 1987 to 2006.

Pauline Menes died of pneumonia at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, on May 16,2009.

Pauline Menes was buried at the King David Memorial Gardens in Falls Church, Virginia.