Women’s History Month
When you think of Historical Women in History, who comes to mind?
- Marie Curie: a two time Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Psychics.
- Elenanor Rossevelt: America’s First Lady for 12 years. Later, she served as U.S. delegate to the United Nations where she was instrumental in securing passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- Malala Yousafzai: As a young girl, she defied the Taliban in Pakistan and demanded that girls be allowed to receive an education. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012 but survived. In 2014, she became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
These women and endless others have helped pave a path for generations of women to come. Congress declared March of 1987 to become the first official Women’s History Month. Since then we have welcomed and celebrated women and all of their fine achievements that make us stand out above and beyond.
Here’s a short quiz!
1. The first African American to win an Academy Award was a woman. True or False?
2. The world’s first novel was written by a woman. True Or False?
3. What woman served as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, freeing hundreds of southern slaves and leading them to safety in the North? A $40,000 reward was offered for her capture.
Scroll down for the answers. No cheating!
- True! Hattie McDaniel won a best supporting actress award for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939)
- True! Most scholars consider The Tale of Genji to be the world’s first novel. It was written c. 1010 CE by Murasaki Shikibu.
- Harriett Tumbman
Now go on to find a woman and thank her for her strength in this world that is still an uphill battle for women’s rights.
-Ellen Lint, Library Assistant