Q: Who was the first woman nominated for president by a major political party?

A: Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman nominated for president by a major party. At the Republican Convention, she placed fifth and lost the nomination to Sen. Barry Goldwater.

Margaret Chase Smith entered politics when she succeeded her late husband in the House of Representatives in 1940. After four terms in the House, she won election to the United States Senate in 1948. In so doing, she became the first woman elected to both houses of Congress.

In 1964, Senator Smith ran in several Republican presidential primaries. She took her candidacy all the way to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, where she became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency by either of the two major parties. In the final balloting, Smith refused to withdraw and so wound up coming in second to the Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater.

During her career, Senator Smith served four terms in the Senate and thirty-two years in Congress.