Leonie Coicou Madiou, first woman elected mayor of Port-au-Prince, is born

Leonie Coicou was born at Petion-Ville on 10 April 1891, daughter of Lisebonne Joseph and the poet Massillon Coicou. Her father was arrested in the night and shot within hours on 15 March 1908 on Nord Alexis’s orders, along with two of his brothers. She became a teacher, an actress, a political militant and a feminist. In 1955 she was elected mayor of Port-au-Prince, the first woman to hold the office. She died at Petion-Ville on 1 September 1974.