Cool Chicks from History

nwkarchivist: 30 Years Ago Today, Sally Ride Blasts Into Space...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:07:34 -0400

30 Years Ago Today, Sally Ride Blasts Into Space & History

From a systems-engineering standpoint, it is easy to identify the point where Sally K. Ride began to leave the rest of the world behind. A flow chart of her life would show the crucial decision coming one day in 1977, when — as a 25-year-old astrophysicist winding up her doctoral work at Stanford University — she spotted an announcement in the campus newspaper about openings in the astronaut program, a career she had never even contemplated for herself. In what once would have been called an epiphany — but she herself would probably describe as a go/no-go decision node — she was up and out of the room before she had finished reading the notice, one of more than 1,000 women and nearly 7,000 men to apply for what would ultimately be the 35 slots in the astronaut class of 1978. Not everyone’s life resolves itself so neatly into yes- or-no decisions, taken in an instant and never looked back upon or regretted, but, if Sally Ride’s life proves anything, it is that the very smart are different from you and me.

Newsweek June 13, 1983

mypubliclands: In today’s society, it’s easy to forget the...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:42:06 -0400

Hallie M. Daggett at Eddy Gulch Station on Klamath Peak.

Hallie M. Daggett plays with her dog at Eddy Gulch Station.

mypubliclands:

In today’s society, it’s easy to forget the historic accomplishments of those who broke down barriers for women to enter the field of natural resources management. Thank you Hallie!

“One of the most untiring and enthusiastic applicants which I have for the position is Miss Hallie Morse Daggett, a wide-awake woman of 30 years, who knows and has traversed every trail on the Salmon River watershed, and is thoroughly familiar with every foot of the District.” M. H. McCarthy, Assistant Fire Ranger for the Salmon River District of the Klamath National Forest

Miss Hallie Morse Daggett was born in 1878 in Liberty, CA. She grew up at the Klamath Mine, also known as Black Bear Mine, very near to where she later worked as a lookout. Her childhood years were spent exploring every inch of the Salmon River drainage with her brothers, which undoubtedly influenced her desire to do her part to protect the forest as an adult.

In describing her life as a lookout, Hallie said: “I grew up with a fierce hatred of the devastating fires and welcomed the Forest Service force which arrived to combat them. But not until the lookout stations were installed did there come an opportunity to join what had up till then been a man’s fight; although my sister and I had frequently been able to help on the small things, such as extinguishing spreading campfires or carrying supplies to the firing line.” Because of the times, Hallie was not allowed to be in the line of work that she truly desired, but through her persistence and the liberal-mindedness of the District Ranger, she was hired. She was the first woman ever employed as a “Forest Guard” by the US Forest Service. Her first day on the job was June 1, 1913, just over 100 years ago.

Hallie was a pioneer in natural resource employment for women who, at the time of her employment, had only just started to vote. Some of the men predicted that after a few days of life on the peak she would telephone them to say that she was frightened by the loneliness and danger of staffing the lookout. To their surprise she was full of “pluck and high spirit”. She grew more and more in love with the work. She didn’t lose heart even when the telephone wires were broken and she was cut off from communication with the world below for weeks at a time. She performed the duties of the position with all of the skill that trained men could have shown in hopes of being reappointed for the 1914 fire season.

Hallie worked 15 seasons at the Eddy Gulch Lookout atop Klamath Peak on the Klamath National Forest. During her first season she spotted 40 fires, keeping the total acres burned to less than 5. In her later years (around 1951) residents of Hallie’s home town in Etna, California, banded together to build her a cabin on Main Street next to her sister Leslie’s home. She lived in this house until her death in 1964. The cabin was donated to the City of Etna by the Rosemary Holsinger family in 1993. Through efforts by the volunteer citizen’s committee, the City of Etna moved the cabin to the city park and developed a historical interpretive site that was completed in 1996. This project was identified as a priority in the Etna community action plan and was funded by Forest Service grants from President Clinton’s Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative and the Ore-Cal Resource Conservation Development Area. The project was also sponsored by the Native Daughters of the American West. The site continues to honor Hallie’s legacy today.

-Story courtesy of the Klamath National Forest.

ourpresidents: Women of the Year Celebration Mrs. Carter and...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:44:50 -0400

ourpresidents:

Women of the Year Celebration

Mrs. Carter and Lady Bird Johnson at the Woman of the Year Award Celebration

Date: June 13, 1978

Western Airlines stewardesses picket company ticket counter at...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:48:28 -0400

Western Airlines stewardesses picket company ticket counter at L.A. Airport to protest recent firing of a stewardess who was four pounds overweight. From left they are Lorraine Storto (back to camera), Glenrae Jenks, Helen Barrios, Carol Zemke and Lila Lynn.

1974

Weight limits for American flight attendants ended in 1990.

nwkarchivist: “Hi There. We’ve Been Waiting For You.” 50 Years...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:02:17 -0400

nwkarchivist:

“Hi There. We’ve Been Waiting For You.”

50 Years Ago, Two Black Students, Vivian Malone And James Hood, Enter The University of Alabama For The First Time.

Centenary of Women's Right to Vote in Norway 1913-2013

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:06:10 -0400

Centenary of Women's Right to Vote in Norway 1913-2013:

On 11 June 2013 it will be 100 years since Norwegian women gained the right to vote and Norway became a true democracy, with women and men enjoying the same democratic rights. Norway was the first independent country in the world to introduce universal suffrage for both men and women.

Hat tip to Amo Librorum for pointing out this anniversary.

"While I ended up with a rewarding and varied professional life, your letter shows just how much..."

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:27:47 -0400

“While I ended up with a rewarding and varied professional life, your letter shows just how much Harvard — not to mention my husband, our families and even myself — didn’t give my career the respect it deserved when I was just starting out.”

- In 1961, Phyllis Richman applied to graduate school at Harvard. She received a letter asking how she would balance a career in city planning with her “responsibilities” to her husband and possible future family. Fifty-two years later, she responds.

The Washington Post

leanin: Happy 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act! (sort of)....

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:27:56 -0400

leanin:

Happy 50th Anniversary of the Equal Pay Act! (sort of). Here are some sobering visuals: For every dollar earned by a white man in America, a white woman earns, on average, 77 cents, a black woman earns 69 cents, and a Latina woman earns 57 cents. (Infographic by the lovely Emily Nemens for LeanIn.Org.)

Karen Nussbaum, founder of the first union for secretaries, via...

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 17:14:55 -0400

Karen Nussbaum, founder of the first union for secretaries, via Makers

Girl Scouts gardening at at the National Emergency War Garden,...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 22:40:01 -0400

Girl Scouts gardening at at the National Emergency War Garden, 1917.

fdrlibrary: Day 25: June 5 A rare non-lady centric reblog

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:39:38 -0400

fdrlibrary:

Day 25: June 5

A rare non-lady centric reblog

smithsonian: That’s some calculation!It’s Women in Science...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:36:52 -0400

smithsonian:

That’s some calculation!

It’s Women in Science Wednesday from the Smithsonian Institution Archives! Read more about Joyce Jacobson Kaufman: http://s.si.edu/18Oi4ke

Chemist Joyce Jacobson Kaufman was notable for carrying out the first all-valence-electron, three-dimensional quantum-chemical calculations.

oupacademic: First Lady Caroline Harrison is best known for her...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:54:21 -0400

oupacademic:

First Lady Caroline Harrison is best known for her domestic successes. She modernized the White House, installing electricity in 1891 and electric kitchen appliances. She gained considerable attention when she designed the cornstalk-and-flower border for the china during her husband’s administration, and she collected the china patterns of all her White House predecessors. Although her contemporaries gave more attention to her domestic accomplishments, she did far more. She agreed to fundraise for the new Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1890 on the grounds that women be admitted to study on the same basis as men, thus making one of the country’s major medical schools coeducational.

Facts and quotations from First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Boyd Caroli. C-SPAN is exploring the influence of First Ladies in its new series.

Image: Caroline Lavinia (Scott) Harrison c. 1889. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

huntingtonlibrary: Over the weekend, we opened “Useful Hours:...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:18:16 -0400

huntingtonlibrary:

Over the weekend, we opened “Useful Hours: Needlework and Painted Textiles from Southern California Collections” in the Chandler Wing of the Scott Galleries. Here’s a sampling of samplers and such that you can find on view through Sept. 2.

captions:
Elizabeth Neil Andrews (1804–1846), Sampler, 1813. Silk on linsey-woolsey, 14 ¾ × 10 ¾ in. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, promised gift of Thomas H. Oxford and Victor Gail.

Elizabeth R. Allen (1792–1816), Memorial to Captain John Allen, 1811. Silk and watercolor on paper, 13 × 14 ½ in. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, promised gift of Thomas H. Oxford and Victor Gail.

Lydia Stockton (1791–1862), Sampler, 1804. Silk and painted paper on linen, 16 ½ ×16 ½ in. Collection of Katharine Pease, Los Angeles.

Ann Gibson (1792–n.d.), Sampler, 1806. Silk and flax on linen. 8 5/16 × 8 5/16 in. Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gift of Mary Jaene and Jim Edmonds. AC1992.182.11. Photo credit: Museum Associates/LACMA. Licensed by Art Resource, NY.

Elizabeth Fellows (n.d.), Pocketbook, 1776. Wool on linen, cotton, 4 ½ × 8 ⅝ in. Collection of Jonathan and Karin Fielding, Los Angeles.

Signal boosting for the Angelenos

occupygezipics: In Taksim Square, a woman holds up a sign...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:20:58 -0400

occupygezipics:

In Taksim Square, a woman holds up a sign asking for PM Erdogan to be true to his words.

Articles about the situation in Turkey:

Occupy Gezi: Police Against Protesters in Istanbul (The New Yorker, June 1)

Drunks, extremists, Twitter - Turkey’s Erdogan blames all (USA Today, June 3)

The Guardian (UK) Live Blog

By day, Janet Stephens is a hairdresser at a Baltimore salon,...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 22:51:00 -0400

By day, Janet Stephens is a hairdresser at a Baltimore salon, trimming bobs and wispy bangs. By night she dwells in a different world. At home in her basement, with a mannequin head, she meticulously re-creates the hairstyles of ancient Rome and Greece. (Wall Street Journal)

Janet Stephen’s YouTube Channel, check out the Flavian-Trajanic: Orbis Comarum

If you’re a Baltimore girl looking for a prom updo, Janet works at Studio 921 Salon.

Sybil Ludington (1761-1839) Art by Audrey Rutherford...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:06:18 -0400

Sybil Ludington (1761-1839)

Art by Audrey Rutherford (tumblr)

Colonel Henry Ludington received word late on April 26, 1777 that the British had attacked Danbury, Connecticut. He called on Sybil, the oldest of his twelve children, to ride through Putnam and Duchess Counties in New York and rally the troops. Just sixteen years old, Sybil rode 40 miles (64 km), roughly twice the distance covered by Paul Revere two years earlier in Massachusetts. Without alerting the British or Loyalist forces, Sybil mustered the militia. The resulting Battle of Ridgefield was a victory for the Continental Army. Although important supplies were lost in the sacking of Danbury, the British retreated and never again attacked inland Connecticut.

Sybil married an innkeeper and raised a family in the Catskills. Monuments to her bravery can be seen in Carmel, NY; Danbury, CT; Washington, DC; and Muralls Inlet, SC.

usagov: Image description: Afghan Air Force 2nd Lt. Niloofar...

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 12:17:38 -0400

usagov:

Image description: Afghan Air Force 2nd Lt. Niloofar Rhmani walks the flightline at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan prior to her graduation from undergraduate pilot training May 13, 2013. Rhmani made history May 14, 2013 when she became the first female to successfully complete undergraduate pilot training and earn the status of pilot in more than 30 years. She will continue her service as she joins the Kabul Air Wing as a Cessna 208 pilot.

Learn more about Rhmani from the U.S. Air Force.

Recommendation: Asian Women in History from Stuff You Missed in History Class

Wed, 29 May 2013 20:00:45 -0400

Updated for 2013

Stuff You Missed in History Class

China’s Empress Dowager Cixi

Okichi, The Tragic Geisha

Who is India’s Joan of Arc?

Don’t Cross the Dragon Lady

Did Empress Wu’s Reign Change China?

The Trung Sisters vs China

Things That Irish/American Women Could Not Do Before the 1970s

Wed, 29 May 2013 18:02:15 -0400

Excerpts below, for the full lists follow the links

Ten things an Irish woman could not do in 1970 (and be prepared to cringe)

#4 Drink a pint in a pub

In 1970, some pubs refused to allow women to enter at all, some allowed women only if accompanied by a man and very many refused to serve women pints of beer. Women who were accidentally served a pint would be instructed to pour it into two half-pint glasses.

How it changed

Women’s groups staged protests in the early 1970s. In one instance, Nell McCafferty led a group of 30 women who ordered, and were served, 30 brandies. They then ordered one pint of Guinness. When the pint was refused, they drank the brandies and refused to pay as their order was not served. In 2002, the Equal Status Act banned gender discrimination in the provision of goods and services. It defined discrimination as “less favourable treatment”. Service can be refused only if there is a reasonable risk of disorderly or criminal conduct.

#7 Live securely in her family home

Under Irish law, a married woman had no right to a share in her family home, even if she was the breadwinner. Her husband could sell the home without her consent.

How it changed

Under the Family Home Protection Act of 1976, neither spouse can sell the family home without the written consent of the other.

10 Things That American Women Could Not Do Before the 1970s

#1 Keep her job if she was pregnant.

Until the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, women could be fired from their workplace for being pregnant.

#2 Report cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The first time that a court recognized sexual harassment in the workplace was in 1977 and it wasn’t until 1980 that sexual harassment was officially defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.