March
is Women’s History Month, 31 days to honor trailblazing ladies. Here are just a
few!
Dr.
Mary Edwards Walker – Only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor (for her
service as a surgeon during the Civil War).
Jane
Addams – Founder of Hull House in Chicago, first American woman to win a Nobel
Peace Prize (1931).
Sally Ride - First American woman in space (1983) on the space shuttle Challenger.
Julia
Morgan – First woman architect licensed to practice in California (1898). Known
for her work on Hearst Castle.
Edith
Wharton – First woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction (1921) for “The Age
of Innocence.”
Aretha
Franklin – First woman inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1987). The
Queen of Soul has 18 Grammys.
Kathryn
Bigelow – First woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director (2010) for “The
Hurt Locker.”
Maya
Angelou – First black woman to have a screenplay produced (1971). She’s been
nominated for a Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer Prize.
Frances
Perkins – First woman member of a Presidential Cabinet (1933). She served as
Secretary of Labor under President Roosevelt.
Betty
Mae Tiger Jumper – First woman tribal chief in North America (1967). She was
elected chairperson of the Seminole Tribe.
Anna
Bissell – First woman CEO in the United States (1898). Her husband invented the
Bissell carpet sweeper, but she ran the company.
Norma
Yaeger – First woman allowed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
(1962).
Gertrude
Ederle – First woman to swim the English Channel (1926) when she was 19 years
old. (It was her second attempt.)
Junko
Tabei – First woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest (1975) at age 35.
Janet
Guthrie – First woman to compete in the Indy 500 and Daytona 500 races (1977).
Stephanie
Ready – First woman to coach a men’s professional sports team (2001).
Jacqueline
Cochran – First woman to break the sound barrier (1953). She holds more speed
and distance records for flying than anyone in history!
Valentina
Tereshkova – First woman to travel in space (1963) as a Russian cosmonaut.
Billie
Jean King – Trailblazer for LGBTQ rights and #1 tennis star.
Joan
Ganz Cooney – Creator of Sesame Street, which has educated children in all
areas of life for almost 50 years (since 1969).
The
list of talented women is endless (and I’m including you & me here), so in
March, let’s hear it for the ladies!
Jenna
