January 8th

1816: Sophie Germain awarded a grand prize by the French Academy of Sciences for work on the mathematics of vibration, foundational to construction of skyscrapers today

1836: Fannie M Jackson, educator, 1st U.S. Black woman college grad, born

1859: Fanny Bullock Workman, suffragist & explorer who carried a ‘Votes for Women’ banner to the top of the Himalayas, born.

1864: Mary Kenney O’Sullivan, Hull House resident, 1st female general organizer for the American Federation of labor, born

1867: Emily Greene Balch, founder of Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), Nobel Peace Prize winner, born

1/8/1868: 1st issue of the National Woman Suffrage Association magazine, The Revolution, edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, appears.

1870: First issue of Woman’s Journal published, by Lucy Stone & her husband Henry Blackwell. It would come to be known as “the voice of the woman’s movement.”

1900: Queen Maria of Yugoslavia, originally a Romanian princess, considered a great humanitarian to the Balkan region, born.

1911: Butterfly McQueen, actress who played Prissy in Gone With the Wind, dancer, atheist activist, born

1925: The first ever all-female state Supreme Court appointed in Texas. The court existed for 5 months. http://bit.ly/6IKVmZ

1977: Pauli Murray, the first female African American Episcopal priest, is ordained

1980: The NCAA (US) decides to sponsor women’s championships in 5 sports the following academic year