Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement, and one of the first women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Born in Cedarville, Illinois, Jane Addams was the youngest of six children born into a prosperous, loving family. Although she was the eighth child, two of her siblings died in infancy, leaving only six to mature. Her mother, Sarah Addams (née Weber), died from tuberculosis during pregnancy when Jane was just two years old.

Jane's father, John H. Addams, was the President of The Second National Bank of Freeport, an Illinois State Senator from 1854 to 1870, and owner of the local grain mill. He remarried when Jane was eight. Her father also was a founding member of the Republican Party and supported Abraham Lincoln. Jane was a first cousin twice removed to Charles Addams, noted cartoonist for The New Yorker. She was born with Pott's disease, which caused a curvature of her spine and lifelong health problems.