Lathrop, LAY thruhp, Julia Clifford (1858-1932), was the first chief of the Children's Bureau of the United States Department of Labor. Lathrop became the first woman to head an important U.S. government bureau. A friend of Jane Addams, she worked at Hull House almost from its beginning, first as a county visitor and then as a member of the Illinois State Board of Charities (see Hull House). She resigned from the board in 1901, in protest against a political appointment, but was reappointed by a new governor. She served 11 years and helped establish the first Juvenile Court.