Women’s History Month is now celebrated in the United States,
the UK, and Australia in March, coordinating with International Women’s Day on
March 8, and in October in Canada. In this country, its origins go back to the
first International Women's Day in 1911. It wasn’t until 1980 that President Jimmy
Carter issued a presidential proclamation that the week of March 8 would be National
Women's History Week. It was later voted in with a Joint Congressional
Resolution in 1982 but grew even further, as by 1986 14 states had expanded the
week to a whole month of celebrating women’s contributions. So in 1987,
Congress passed a resolution to make March of that year Women’s History Month,
and it later was reinforced as an annual event.
So as a tip of the cap to all of the women who served and
sacrificed to bring us better lives, we’ll highlight a few notable women who
achieved great things in U.S. history:
Madeleine Albright
In 1996, she was appointed Secretary of State under Bill
Clinton, the first woman to hold that office.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
A former attorney for the ACLU and lifelong legal advocate,
in 1993 Ginsberg was appointed to the Supreme Court.
Geraldine Ferraro
In 1984, Ferraro became the first woman nominated as a major
political party’s candidate for Vice President of the United States, running on
the ticket with Walter Mondale.
Sandra Day O' Connor
O’Conner became the first female Supreme Court justice in
United States history in 1981.
Victoria Woodhull
She was an American suffragist and leader of the movement, who's
causes were often published in newspapers and influenced many readers. Woodhull
actually ran for President in 1872.
Harriet Tubman
Tubman was born into slavery in 1820 in Maryland and became
a conductor on the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves flee to safety
in the north. She became a free woman and an active abolitionist.
Sojourner Truth
Like Harriet Tubman and so many others, Truth was born into
slavery in 1797, but later freed, becoming a leading organizer and advocate for
the abolition of slavery and women’s rights.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Stowe was the author of the iconic novel Uncle Toms Cabin,
which helped advance the abolitionist cause and is still considered a literary
classic.
Ida Tarbell
Back in 1904 Tarbell brought the corruption of the oil
industry to the national spotlight with her published work, A History of
Standard Oil.
Frances Perkins
Perkins was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Secretary
of Labor, which made her the first woman in U.S. history to serve on a
presidential cabinet.
Eleanor Roosevelt
FDR’s wife was a vocal and visible supporter of civil rights
and social issues, opposing Jim Crow laws and improving the conditions of
women.
Sally Ride
In June of 1983, Ride became the first and also the youngest
woman every to reach outer space with the NASA program.
Jane Addams
Born in 1860, Addams became the first American woman to earn
Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for her service as president of Women's International
League for Peace and Freedom.
Susan B. Anthony
Anthony worked tirelessly for the cause of women’s suffrage
in her lifetime, becoming synonymous with the cause of women’s right to vote.
Clara Barton
Born in 1821, this Civil War nurse and teacher went on to
found the American Red Cross.
Shirley Chisholm
Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to
Congress as a representative of New York, and later in 1972 ran for the Democratic nomination in
the presidential campaign.
Elizabeth Blackwell
This academic and advocate of women’s rights became the
first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States.
Rachel Louise Carson
Born in 1907, Carson became the founder of the modern
environmental movement, rallying the world against the chemical DDT in her
1950s book, Silent Spring.
Amelia Earhart
She was the first female aviator to make a solo nonstop
flight across the Atlantic in 1928.
Mary Lyon
In 1837, Lyon founded the first U.S. college for women,
Mount Holyoke Seminary.
Gloria Steinem
Steinem was the mother of modern feminism, founding Ms.
magazine and serving as a co-covener of the National Women's Political Caucus.
Wilma Rudolph
Rudolph became the first woman to win three Olympic gold
medals with her performance in track and field events in 1960.
Rosa Parks
Parks refused to give up her seat and move to the back of
the bus, creating a spark that engulfed the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.
Sarah Grimke
In 1838, Grimke wrote an essay titled "Essay on the
Equality of Women” making an argument that would be picked up by suffragists
for a century to come.
Billie Jean King
A professional tennis player in the United States in the
1960s and 70s, King helped challenge the myth that women’s sports were inferior
and they couldn’t compete.
Helen Keller
In the early 1900s, Keller, blind and deaf herself, came to
international prominence as an educator and advocate of rights and advancement
for disabled people.
Mary Wollstonecraft
This writer, feminist, and philosopher wrote the book, A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in 1792, which completely bucked societal
norms at the time.
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