76c Senator Hattie W. Caraway stamp

The Postal Service issued a 76-cent Hattie Caraway definitive stamp in Little Rock, Arkansas, on February 21, 2001. The stamp, designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Arizona, and illustrated by Mark Summers of Waterdown, Ontario, Canada, went on sale nationwide February 22, 2001.

With this third issuance in the Distinguished Americans Series, the US Postal Service honored Hattie Wyatt Caraway (1878-1950), the first woman elected to the US Senate. Artist Mark Summers — well-known for his scratchboard technique — created this portrait for the stamp using as reference a black-and-white photograph of Senator Caraway taken on October 21, 1943. Mark Summers also created the stamp art for the first two issues in the Distinguished Americans Series — Joseph W. Stilwell (2000) and Claude Pepper (2000).

Mrs. Caraway was appointed to the Senate on November 13, 1931, a few days after the death of her husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway. On January 12, 1932, she won a special election to fill the remaining months of his term. Subsequently elected to two six-year terms, she served in the Senate until January 1945. In 1933, Senator Caraway — a Democrat from Arkansas — became the first woman to chair a Senate committee. On October 19, 1943, in the absence that day of the vice president and the president pro tempore (the Senate's presiding officer), Senator Caraway was appointed acting president pro tempore, the first woman to preside formally over the Senate.

Senator Caraway, a strong supporter of New Deal legislation, was known for her dedication and diligence. On December 19, 1944, her last day at work in the Senate chamber, Senator Caraway was honored by her colleagues with a standing ovation. She died on December 21, 1950, in Falls Church, Virginia.

The Banknote Corporation of America, Inc., produced 100 million stamps in the offset/intaglio process.

Reference: Postal Bulletin (January 25, 2001)

Scott Catalogue USA: 3432
mint

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Museum ID: 2008.2007.248