Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, then Principal of Lincoln High School, 1936. Photo in the L.A. Times Photographic Collection at UCLA Library.
In 1916, at age 32, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus became principal of Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles - the first woman principal of a California high school. During the six years prior to becoming principal, while she taught at Lincoln High, Andrus earned her master’s and doctorate degrees at USC. Her career as teacher and principal at Lincoln High spanned 34 years.
After Andrus retired from education in 1944, she became active in causes for retired teachers. She saw the need for a national organization to represent the interests of retired teachers. In 1947, in order to provide affordable health insurance for retired teachers, she founded the National Retired Teacher’s Association. The organization was the first to secure health insurance specifically for older Americans, preceding even Medicare (which did not start until 1965). This provided health insurance only for retired teachers, however, highlighting the need for affordable health insurance for all retirees. In 1958, Andrus co-founded the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). She served as the new organization's first president and editor of its first magazine, Modern Maturity. AARP went on to become one of the nation's largest and most influential advocacy organizations and now counts nearly 39 million members.
