Important Dates in Women’s History "I shall be honored until my dying breath at
being an activist on the playing field of equal opportunity." Women have achieved a great deal through hard work and perseverance. We celebrate their achievements with these important dates. As we learn more this list will grow. 1777 - Women lose the right to vote in New York 1780 - Women lose the right to vote in Massachusetts 1784 - Women lose the right to vote in New Hampshire 1807 - Women lose the right to vote in New Jersey 1837 - Mount Holyoke College is founded for women 1847 – Maria Mitchell, first American woman astronomer discovers a new comet 1848 – first Women’s rights convention held in New York 1850 - Female Medical College of Pennsylvania is founded 1861 – Julia Ward Howe write the words to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" 1864 – Sojourner Truth visits President Lincoln at the White House 1871 - Smith College is founded 1872 - Susan B. Anthony is arrested for attempting to vote 1872 - Victoria Woodhull was selected by the Equal Rights Party to be its candidate in the 1872 Presidential election 1881 – Clara Barton established the American Red Cross 1891 - 1893 Lydia Lilluokalani reigns as Queen of Hawaii 1893 – New Zealand women won the right to vote 1894 - Johns Hopkins Medical School admits women 1904 – Helen Keller graduates from Radcliffe 1910 - Women are allowed to vote in Washington 1911 - Women are allowed to vote in California 1912 - Kansas, Oregon, and Arizona allow women the right to vote 1912 – Girl Guides (Girl Scouts) founded in America 1917 – Jeannette Rankin first woman to be elected to the US Congress 1917 - Women picked the White House demanding the right to vote 1920 – The 19th Amendment is ratified giving United States women the right to vote 1932 - Frances Perkins is appointed Secretary of Labor becoming the first woman to be appointed to the Cabinet 1932 - Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas was the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate 1940 - Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was elected to the Senate in 1948 becoming the first woman to be elected to serve in both houses. 1946 – Eleanor Roosevelt elected Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Commission 1964 - Margaret Chase Smith of Maine became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the U.S. Presidency at a major party's convention. 1966 - National Organization for Women is founded 1968 – Shirley Chisholm is first African American woman elected to Congress 1969 - National Women's Hall of Fame is created in Seneca Falls, NY 1972 - Shirley Chisholm became the first woman and the first African-American to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States 1972 - Title IX of the Higher Education Act is approved opening doors for women athletes 1972 – Gloria Steinem founds Ms. Magazine 1973 – Barbara Jordan becomes the first African American woman from a southern state to serve in the Congress 1981- Congress approves a resolution creating Women's History Week 1981 - Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court 1983 – Sally Ride becomes the first woman to fly in space 1984 - Geraldine Ferraro is nominated as the first female vice-presidential candidate for a major political party 1987 - Women's History Week is expanded when March becomes Women's History Month 1988 - Jackie Joyner Kersee wins two Olympic Gold medals 1990 - Oprah Winfrey becomes first woman to own an produce her own syndicated television show 1993 – Dr. Jocelyn Elders becomes U.S. Surgeon General 1993 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court 1994 - Violence Against Women Act is passed 1996 - Madeline Albright is appointed as the first woman Secretary of State 2000 - Hillary Clinton becomes first former first lady elected Senator 2004 - Sophia Coppola becomes the first American woman to be awarded an Academy Award for Best Director
|