Julia Barnett Rice

[1] Her involvement and efforts helped pass the 1907 Bennett Act,[2] which regulated the unnecessary noise and whistling of tugboats.

Her efforts improved the lives of students and hospital patients in New York City and influenced activists across the country.

[3] Although she was born in New Orleans, her and her family ended up living in the Upper West Side of New York City, at the Isaac L. Rice Mansion on Riverside Drive.

In many cases, the shock is proved to be fatal.”[1] This statement got Julia’s campaign going, and influenced a few other hospitals in earshot of the tugboat noises to speak up as well.

After gaining a fair amount of notice, Julia Barnett Rice recruited a number of Columbia University Students to listen, record, and account for the frequent, unbearable noise that was heard in her house.