This section began as a celebration of March and Women’s History Month; it continues as a regular feature because there are so many unrecognized women who have made major contributions to history.
Lawyer, activist, children’s advocate
Today we know her as the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Her list of accomplishments started early; she was the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar Association.
Marian Wright Edelman (1939- ) Read More »
First female president elected to head an international labor union Nestor began work in a glove-making factory when she was still in her teens, and by the age of 22
Agnes Nestor (1880-1948) Read More »
Native American community activist, tribal chief and tribal legislator Wilma Mankiller served her people as a Cherokee Chief from 1985-95, making her the first woman to lead a major tribe.
Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010) Read More »
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Smallest Freedom Fighter”
Sheyann Webb (1956- ) Read More »
Freed American women from corsets by designing and patenting a bra (1913) Mary Phelps Jacob (1892-1970) wanted something more comfortable than a corset to wear under one of her ball
Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob) Invented Bra Read More »
American dogsledder and first woman to win the Iditarod, 1985
The Iditarod is a grueling 1152-mile trans-Alaska dogsled race in which male mushers dominated until 1985 when Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the annual race.
Libby Riddles (1956- ) Read More »
