In 1916, pacifist Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 - May 18, 1973) of Montana became the first woman to be elected to the US Congress. After a long gap, she was elected a second time in 1940. Rankin happened to be in office at the beginning of both World War I and World War II; she was one of the few in Congress who voted against entry into World War I, and the only one to vote against declaring war against Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rankin was a strong proponent of women’s rights, and she was influential in obtaining the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote throughout the US.