Mae Ella Nolan (September 20, 1886 - July 9, 1973) was an American politician who became the fourth woman to serve in the United States Congress, the first woman elected to Congress from California, the first woman to chair a Congressional committee, and the first to fill the seat left vacant by her husband's death. She took her seat in the House of Representatives in 1923. Mae Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, and attended public schools, St. Vincent's Convent, and Ayres Business College of San Francisco.
Nolan was elected as a Republican to the 67th Congress by special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband, John Ignatius Nolan, on November 18, 1922. She served in the 67th and 68th Congresses, from January 23, 1923 to March 3, 1925.
Nolan was the fourth woman elected to Congress, after Jeannette Rankin, Alice Mary Robertson, and Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck. All four were elected as Republicans to the House of Representatives.
Nolan was the first woman elected to her husband's seat in Congress, which is sometimes known as the "widow's succession". As of 2004, a total of 36 widows have won their husband's seat in the House, and 8 in the Senate. Current examples are Representatives Mary Bono (widow of Sonny Bono) and Lois Capps and Doris Matsui, both of California, and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri. The most successful example is Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who served a total of 32 years in both houses and became the first woman elected to both the House and the Senate. The third woman elected to Congress, Winnifred Huck, was similarly elected to her father's seat.
Nolan initially supported her late husband's stance on women's suffrage, but later supported the right of women to vote. During her term, she was the chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department. She was not a candidate for renomination in 1924 to the 69th Congress, claiming "politics is man's business".
Nolan moved to Sacramento, California in her later years, where she died. She was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.
