Lavinia Margaret Engle was born in Montgomery County, MD in 1892. Her mother was already involved in the suffrage movement, and Lavinia met Susan B. Anthony as a child. She earned a B.A. from Antioch College in 1912, and joined the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1913 as a field organizer. She traveled extensively in the South, campaigning for ratification of the 19th amendment. She also participated in suffrage marches in Washington, DC and New York City. Later, she completed graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she was the first woman to earn a doctorate degree in political science and economics.

After the dissolution of the NAWSA, Ms. Engle helped establish the National League of Women Voters. From 1920 to 1936, she served as the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Maryland, and she remained a faithful member of the local League in Montgomery County until her death. 

In 1930, Ms. Engle ran successfully for the Maryland House of Delegates where she became the first woman elected to the House from Montgomery County. She was also the first woman to serve as County Commissioner. In 1936, President Roosevelt appointed her to the Social Security Board, and she served as an official of the Social Security Administration until her retirement in 1964.

After her retirement, Ms. Engle continued to serve Montgomery County as a member of the Commission for Aging and was its representative to the White House Conference on Aging. She died in 1979 at the age of 87. In 1989, she was posthumously inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.