Life By Kristen

Go, and embrace your liberty. And see what wonderful things come of it. – Little Women

Archive for the tag “Women’s History Month”

18 Mar 2016

5 on Friday: Women in US History

In honor of women’s history month, a 5 on Friday filled with some interesting females, a favorite topic of mine!

Alice Ramsey- In 1909, she became the first woman to drive solo across the United States- it took her 59 days!

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Susanna Madora Salter: The first female mayor in the United States, elected in Argonia, Kansas, in 1887.

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Beatrice Turner: An artist who never married so of course people think she is a recluse ( she wasn’t), but she did have some weird habits and eccentric behaviors. I only recently learned about this woman and am anxious to learn more.

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Sara Delano Roosevelt: Mother to FDR. The entire Roosevelt family is fascinating to me ( check out Ken Burns documentary on them), but FDR’s mother is quite an interesting character. FDR was certainly her prized child and she made Eleanor Roosevelt’s life quite difficult at times.

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Patsy T. Mink: First woman of color and first Asian American woman in US Congress- and from Hawai’i! She was one of the main legislators responsible for the passage of Title IX in 1972.

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02 Mar 2015

Women’s History Month 2015

March is Women’s History Month. I wrote last year about some of the women who I find most interesting in history. Here are a few more interesting women of history that you may or may not know about.

Claire McCardell

If you’re a woman reading this wearing pants or an outfit put together with separates, you have Claire McCardell to thank. This 20th century fashion designer revolutionized the way women dress and even the way we shop. I think her designs are timeless, classic pieces that become staples in a wardrobe. Her work is in many museum collections because of its importance to fashion, cultural, and social history.

 

Julia Child

Julia Child is one of the most amazing people to me, mostly because she didn’t find her passion of food and cooking until she was in her 30s. As a person who is sort of in the middle of a career question mark ( not calling it a crisis, but definitely a transitional period of career and life), this is endlessly inspiring to me. That and her TV show was something I watched as a child that made me laugh, even if I had no idea what she was doing.

 Anne Hutchinson

A member of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Hutchinson was excommunicated from the group and made her way to more accepting and tolerant Rhode Island, where she would become one of the founders of Portsmouth, RI. She challenged the authority of the leaders and minister of the Puritans and was a leading figure in religious freedom and expression.

 

Nurses of World War II

My senior project in college was working on a small capstone project that included a research project and exhibit on a friend’s aunt who was a nurse in the Army Nurse Corps and later the Navy Nurse Corps. This woman had an incredibly interesting life story, but as I learned more about the nurses involved in World War II, I was captivated and amazed by their stories. If ever I have the time to research and write again, I would most certainly explore this area more.

 

 

 

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10 Mar 2014

Women’s History Month

March is a favorite month not only because it begins with my birthday and ends with the arrival of springtime, but also because it’s women’s history month. Women’s history has long been one of my interest areas- I earned a certificate in Women in Leadership in undergrad at Franklin Pierce, and have done a lot of research both for personal interest and work on various notable females. Most of the memoirs/biographies I read are about/by women. I thought I’d take the opportunity to share a few historical gals who I’m fascinated by.

Elizabeth Blackwell

I think I first learned of Blackwell via an elementary school biography series of short stories and then did a lot of my own research on her from there. Blackwell was the first American woman to earn a medical degree from an American medical school.

Louisa May Alcott

As my blog subtitle suggests, I’m a huge fan of Little Women. My interest in Alcott was sparked from that book and learning she was from Concord, MA which also happens to be my place of birth. In junior high school I visited Orchard House for the first time and it is definitely one of the places that sparked my interest in historic houses/museums. The Alcott family fascinates me because of how progressive the whole clan was. There are a lot of books written on the family and Louisa in particular, of which I’ve only read a fraction, but they are high on the reading list.

Madeline Albright

I highly recommend her memoir Madam Secretary and also really enjoyed Read My Pins ( though I missed the exhibition!) Sure she’s the first secretary of state, but her life story is really interesting, as well as her diplomacy and thoughts on the world. Also, she’s on Twitter!

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