On This Day in Herstory, November 11th 1865, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war, doctor, and the first US Army female surgeon, was the first woman awarded the Medal of Honor. To date, she is the only woman to have been given the military decoration; 1 woman and 3,521 men have received this award.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was born November 26th 1832 in Oswego, New York; she and her siblings were raised in a very progressive manner for the time. She was very well educated, and from a young age she would read her father’s medical texts; this interest lead to her enrollment and graduation from Syracuse Medical College, she was the only woman in her class. She married a fellow medical student, Albert Miller, just before she turned 23. Her wedding defied tradition, she wore a short skirt with trousers underneath, would not include the word “obey” in her vows, and she retained her last name. The couple set up a medical practice in Rome, New York, but had little success, as female doctors were not trusted at the time. She and Miller later divorced due to his infidelity.
In 1861 with the start of the American Civil War, Walker volunteered as a nurse, working as the Patent Office Hospital in Washington, D.C.; she then began to work in the battlefields, in tent hospitals. In fall 1863 she was appointed assistant surgeon in the Army of the Cumberland. Unfortunately, not too long after, in April 1864 she was captured and imprisoned by the Confederate Army; and was released in August of that year. Shortly after her release she received a contract as an “acting assistant surgeon,” and began supervision a hospital for women prisoners and then an orphanage. She retired from her government service in June 1865, and on November 11th of that year she was awarded the Medal of Honor for Meritorious, in recognition of her courageous war efforts. Today, 153 years later, Walker remains the only female Medal of Honor recipient.
After the Civil War, Walker lectured on issues such as dress reforms and women’s suffrage. She became infamous for her objections to a traditional female wardrobe. She wrote in 1871, “The greatest sorrows from which women suffer to-day are those physical, moral, and mental ones, that are caused by their unhygienic manner of dressing!” She strongly disagreed with long skirts and petticoats, not just for their discomfort and the wearer’s limited mobility, but also for their collection and spreading of dust and dirt. By 1861 her regular ensemble was trousers with suspenders under a knee-length dress with a tight waist and a full skirt. She believed that women’s clothes should “protect the person, and allow freedom of motion and circulation, and not make the wearer a slave to it.” In February 1870 Walker was arrested in New Orleans and mocked by the police because she was dressed “like a man.” The arresting officer twisted her arm and asked her is she had ever had sex with a man. She was released from custody when she was recognized at Police Court.
Regrettably, in 1917 the U.S. government changed the criteria for the Medal of Honor and withdrew Walker’s medal, though she continued to wear it. She died two years later on February 21st 1919. 60 years after her death in 1977, Walker’s Medal of Honor was posthumously restored.
On This Day in Herstory, September 12th 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells was sworn in as the first female police officer; she was given the keys to the telephone box, a police rule book, a badge, full powers of arrest, but not a gun.
Wells graduated from the Hartford Theological Seminary, where she conducted a study that proved these was a genuine need for female police officer; and after a substantial amount of campaigning, Wells became the first policewoman, and was classified under civil service, “purity squad”, and not required to wear a uniform. Prior to this, police departments had only employed female officers to care for female prisoners. Wells, however, was a full police officer and was issued badge #398; when she attempted to used this badge for a free trolley ride she was accused of abusing her husbands powers, and so she was issued “Policewoman’s Badge Number One”.
Since she was considered by many to not be of the same caliber as typical officers, Wells was responsible for sewing her own uniforms, which were floor-length dresses and a jacket. Many considered Wells an officer in name only, and much of her duties were less urgent than other officers, like chaperoning dances and monitoring skating rinks. Finally, two years after Wells joined the force, women became more of a force to be reckoned with, as two additional woman joined the LAPD, and 16 other women became police officers across the United States.
Wells went on to found and be the first president of the International Policewomen’s Association. Throughout her life and career she advocated for the need for more female officers, so women would feel more comfortable using police services. Wells also went on to found, and be president of, the LA Social Hygiene Society that promoted sex education in LA.
On This Day in Herstory, August 31st 1869, Mary Ward, an Irish scientist, astronomer, author and artist, died at the age of 42; she is the first person known to have been killed by a motor vehicle.
Just like most girls at the time, Ward and her sisters were educated at home, however, she came from a family that was renowned for its scientific prowess; and as such, from a young age she developed an interest in the natural world. Ward dabbled in astronomy, her cousin was crucial in the construction of a reflecting telescope with a six-foot mirror; at every stage of construction Ward produced detailed sketches of the instrument, these sketches were essential in the recent restoration of the telescope.
Ward also enjoyed creating highly detailed sketches of insects, this interest led to her procurement of a microscope. She read everything she could find about microscopy and became a self taught expert. She even went as far as to make her own slides using ivory, as glass was not easy to secure at the time. Despite her passions and education, Universities and societies would not accept women into their ranks at this time. Ward pursued knowledge in every way that was in her means, frequently writing to scientists to ask about papers they had written.
In 1857 Ward decided to make her knowledge public, however found it difficult to find a publisher that accepted the scientific workings of women. She chose to publish her first book privately, and after some success the work was released again under a new publisher; this work was reprinted eight times due to its success. She published several articles and a few more books, with two of her publications being chosen to go on display at the international exhibition at the Crystal Palace in 1862.
Her death at such a young age was a tremendous loss to the scientific community, as she proved herself as one of the best known authors on the use of a microscope.
On This Day in Herstory, August 30th 1797, English novelist, and dramatist, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in Somers Town, London. Shelley is best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), this novel was the first of its kind, and helped to create a new genre of literature, Science Fiction.
The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin, and philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was raised by Godwin alone, as Wollstonecraft died less than a month after giving birth. Her father raised her with his radical political ideas, and her mother’s feminist texts. She went on to marry a political poet, and was friends with many well known writers, these influences pushed her to pursue a career in writing.
Her most famous work came about as a result of a game. One summer in Geneva, her friend Lord Byron challenged her to wrote a ghost story, and thus Frankensteinwas born. The book was widely popular, but Shelley was not recognized for her work; many people thought her husband had written the book. Shelley had to publish the first edition of her book anonymously, her name was then added in the second printing.
Shelley’s work brought her much success, and she continued her career as a writer. She paved the way for women in literature, and proved that women were as capable as men, a revolutionary idea at the time.
Shelley died on February 1st 1851, at the age of 53. She was buried with the cremated remains of her husband’s heart, that she had carried with her for nearly 30 years.
On This Day in Herstory, August 29th 1926, Helene Ahrweiler, a Greek academic and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Greece, was born in Athens, Greece.
After finishing high school Ahrweiler, the daughter of refugees from Asia Minor, went on to study History and Archaeology at the University of Athens. From there she moved to Paris and earned degrees in History and Classics, and in 1960 she completed her first PhD in History from the University of Sorbonne. By 1966 she had completed her second PhD in Philology, the study of structure and historical developments of languages; and just one year later she became a professor at the Sorbonne.
From here, her career developed rapidly; from 1970-1973 she was Deputy Principal of the Sorbonne, and she was Principal of the Sorbonne from 1976-1981. Ahrweiler was the first woman to ever hold this position in the history of the Sorbonne, and she was the first woman ever to hold the post of Principal at a world-renowned University. In 1982 the French President named her as Rector to the Academy of Paris, and Chancellor of the Universities of Paris.
Ahrweiler was also named Principal of the University of Europe in Paris, President of the Ethics Committee of the National Centre of Scientific Research in France, and Honorary President of the International Committee of Byzantine Studies. Additionally, the President of France offered her the Medal of the Battalion Commander of the Legion of Honor, this is one of the highest awards in France.
Throughout her studies and career, she was also the recipient of several Honorary Doctorates from Universities all over the world. As well, in 2008 she was named one of the 100 Greatest Greeks of all time.
On This Day in Herstory, August 28th 1929, Roxie Roker, an actress who portrayed Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, half of the first interracial couple regularly shown on TV, and mother of Lenny Kravitz and grandmother of Zoë Kravitz, was born in Miami, Florida.
Roxie Albertha Roker, was the daughter of Bessie Mitchell, a domestic worker, and Albert Roker, an immigrant from the Bahamas and a porter. She graduated from Howard University, where she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority founded by Black college women. She later moved to Brooklyn, New York to pursue a career as an actress. In 1962, she married television producer Sy Kravitz, a white Jewish man. Together the couple had a son, singer-songwriter and actor Lenny Kravitz; the pair divorced in 1985.
Roxie found her start in professional acting with the Negro Ensemble Company. During her time with the company, she established herself as a successful stage actress. She won an Obie Award in 1974 and was also nominated for a Tony Award. She had supporting and guest starring roles on many TV shows from the 1970s to the 1990s; these shows included Punky Brewster, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, A Different World, Murder, She Wrote, The Love Boat, and many others. She had roles in the television miniseries Roots and in the movie Claudine. However, she is best known for her portrayal of Helen Willis on The Jeffersons.
The Jeffersons first premiered on CBS in 1975. Straight away the show received a lot of attention because it portrayed a Black family that was upwardly mobile, additionally, the show featured one TVs first interracial couples, Tom and Helen Willis, the neighbors of the Jefferson family. Despite the show being a comedy, it also exemplified some of the bigotry and racism faced by interracial couples.
In addition to her acting, Roxie was a children’s advocate; and she was cited by Los Angeles for her community work. Roxie Roker died in Los Angeles, California, on December 2nd, 1995, as a result of breast cancer, she was 66 years old.
On This Day in Herstory, August 27th 1875, Katharine Dexter McCormick, an influential philanthropist, biologist, suffragist, heiress, and funder of the first birth control pill was born, in Dexter, Michigan.
McCormick attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and graduated with a degree in biology in 1904. This is where she really found her passion for gender equality; MIT mandated that all female undergraduates wear hats adorned with feathers, McCormick refused stating that it would be a tremendous fire hazard in laboratories; her passion and relentlessness made MIT’s administration change their policies.
After her graduation McCormick became involved with the Woman’s Suffrage Movement. In 1909 she spoke at the first outdoor rally for suffrage in Massachusetts, and became vice president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Through her activism McCormick met Margaret Sanger in 1917. Sanger is the mother of modern birth control, and she persuaded McCormick to join the Committee of 100, a group of influential women who worked to legalize birth control.
McCormick and Sanger worked together through the 20′s on birth control issues, McCormick smuggled in and distributed more than 1,000 diaphragms from Europe to New York City. By 1947 McCormick’s mother and husband had died, leaving her inheritor to more than $45 million (more than $500 million today). She used this money to fund the work of Gregory Goodwin Pincus who was working to develop hormonal birth control. She gave him $100,000-$180,000 a year of her own money from 1951 to 1967; the FDA approved the sale of the drug in 1957, but McCormick continued to invest in Pincus as he researched ways to improve birth control.
At the age of 92 McCormick died. In her will she gave $5 million to Stanford University School of Medicine to support the education of female physicians. She also gave $5 million to Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
On This Day in Herstory, August 23rd 1902, Fannie Farmer opened Miss Farmer’s School of Cookery in Boston;this school was established to train housewives in cooking as opposed to traditional cooking schools that only taught professional chefs, teachers, or servants.
Farmer is best known for being an American cooking expert, and author of the acclaimed Fannie Farmer Cookbook (originally titled Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book). Her cookbook, is often considered to be the greatest American cookbook, it was written over 120 years ago and revolutionized cooking as we know it.
The idea was simple, and very innovative; standardizing the measuring tools used in the cooking process ensures that the recipes turn out great every time; whether you’re an amateur or a professional, the results will be the same. The cookbook gave very simple instructions but left nothing to the user’s devices, the cookbook included everything from boiling an egg, to dressing and cleaning poultry.
