Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu: A Trailblazer in Physics & Equality Introduction: In the male-dominated field of physics, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu shattered barriers and emerged as a remarkable figure, leaving an indelible mark on scientific achievements and gender equality. Born on May 31, 1912, in Liuhe, China, Dr. Wu’s journey from a small town outside of Shanghai […]
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]]>In the male-dominated field of physics, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu shattered barriers and emerged as a remarkable figure, leaving an indelible mark on scientific achievements and gender equality. Born on May 31, 1912, in Liuhe, China, Dr. Wu’s journey from a small town outside of Shanghai to becoming a prominent physicist is an inspiring tale of determination, intellect, and resilience.
Dr. Wu grew up in a family that valued education and gender equality. Her mother, Fan Fu-Hua, a teacher, instilled in her the belief in equal education for both boys and girls. Her father, Wu Zhong-Yi, an engineer and activist during the Xinhai Revolution, encouraged and supported her scientific interests. Dr. Wu’s education began at her father’s school, the Ming De School, where she excelled academically. She continued her studies at the Suzhou Women’s Normal School, ranking ninth among 10,000 applicants. This achievement set the stage for her future academic success.
Though Dr. Wu possessed a strong literary background, she felt her mathematics and science skills were lacking. Her father, recognizing her potential, purchased books on trigonometry, algebra, and geometry, igniting her passion for self-study. She enrolled at the National Central University in Nanjing, where she initially pursued a mathematics major but later transferred to physics. Driven by her academic prowess, she engaged in student politics, becoming a student leader and leading protests for change.
After completing her university studies, Dr. Wu joined Zhejiang University, where she conducted graduate-level studies in physics. Later, she worked at the Institute of Physics of the Academia Sinica, guided by her role model, Dr. Gu Jing-Wei. Dr. Gu encouraged Dr. Wu to pursue doctoral studies in America, leading her to apply and be accepted at the University of Michigan. In 1936, she embarked on a journey to the United States, boarding the SS President Hoover.
Dr. Wu faced numerous challenges in her pursuit of knowledge and scientific recognition. She encountered gender discrimination and racism, but her determination remained unwavering. Upon discovering that women were not allowed to use the front door of buildings at the University of Michigan, she chose to attend Cal-Berkeley instead. There, she met physicist Luke Chia-Liu Yuan, who would become her husband and a source of support throughout her career.
Throughout her career, Dr. Wu made significant contributions to various fields of physics. She worked at prestigious institutions such as Smith College, Princeton University, and Columbia University. Notably, she confirmed Enrico Fermi’s theory of beta decay, leading to her authoring the book “Beta Decay,” which is still referenced by physicists today. Her experimental work with Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang, known as the “Wu Experiment,” challenged established scientific norms and earned them a Nobel Prize.
Dr. Wu’s contributions to the scientific community and her advocacy for women in STEM fields have been widely recognized. She received numerous awards and accolades, including the National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize in Physics. Dr. Wu became the first female tenured physics professor at Columbia University and served as the first female president of the American Physical Society. Her legacy extends beyond her scientific achievements, as she passionately promoted Chinese democracy and inspired future generations through educational programs.
Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu’s extraordinary life and career exemplify the power of determination, passion, and resilience. Overcoming gender and racial barriers, she emerged as a trailblazer in physics, leaving an indelible impact on the field and inspiring countless individuals, especially women, to pursue careers in STEM.
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]]>Margaret Anne Bulkley was a force to be reckoned with. Born in Cork, Ireland in 1789, Margaret grew up in a successful grocery business owned by her parents. Unfortunately, Margaret’s older brother, John, had other ideas for the family’s wealth. He spent the money lavishly, eventually leading to his imprisonment after bankrupting the family.
After receiving an unexpected inheritance from their late uncle James Barry, a painter and Royal Academician, Margaret and their mother moved to Edinburgh. It was there that Margaret told their brother at the age of 18, “were I not a girl, I would be a soldier!” Little did anyone know at the time just how accurate that statement would turn out to be.
Margaret would later adopt their uncle’s name and use his connections with influential patrons to assist their career. They met two of Uncle James’s friends in earlier years, Venezuelan-exile General Francisco de Miranda and David Steuart Erskine, Earl of Buchan. The men quickly recognized how intelligent Margaret was and likely helped hatch the plan to help them earn an education and pursue a medical degree.
Margaret enrolled at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, where administrators suspected them to be far younger than originally stated because of their small frame and hairless chin. Margaret became an assistant surgeon in the Army, where they served for 12 years in Africa and eventually became the head of all military-related medical affairs. They later traveled to the Mediterranean, West Indies, and Canada.
In order to masquerade their appearance, Margaret used stacked heels and stuffing, but they may have additionally attempted to detract from their feminine characteristics by becoming a pillar of toxic masculinity. Dr. Barry was noted for being bad-tempered and even violent at times, known to yell at patients, argue with superiors (which Corissa wholeheartedly supports), and throw medicine bottles at the wall. They even got into a duel in their younger years, from which both challengers emerged unscathed, but Dr. Barry was known to carry a sword on their person.
Despite a bad temper prone to outbursts, Dr. Barry was a physician for all people, treating rich, poor, white colonists, and slaves alike. They were a staunch advocate for hygienic practices and reform in prisons, asylums, and barracks. Dr. Barry was the first European to perform a successful cesarean section in Africa, meaning that both mother and child survived (meanwhile, this is still a persistent issue in maternal-fetal medicine in the US today).
Dr. Barry created strict rules to ensure humane treatment for inhabitants of a local leper colony. They may have been involved in an affair with Cape Colony governor Lord Charles Somerset. Allegations were printed on a poster, and an investigation was conducted, but to no result. It is likely that Lord Somerset knew Dr. Barry’s real identity, as did a handful of very close confidants.
After a medical career spanning 50 years, Dr. Barry died in 1865 of dysentery. Upon washing of the body, a charwoman noted that they were “a perfect female.” Prior to their death, Dr. Barry had specifically requested that their body remain unexamined after their death and they remain in the clothes they died in for burial. The charwoman also noted stretch marks on Dr. Barry’s abdomen, almost as if they gave birth sometime in their life.
Upon their death and the discovery that Dr. James Barry was born Margaret Bulkley, many colleagues came forward and said they knew their secret the whole time, but this is highly unlikely. There is great speculation and plausible evidence supporting that Dr. Barry may have been born intersex, raised as a woman, and later chose to identify as a man. “Barry’s Edinburgh thesis on femoral hernias (hernias of the thigh)–which can turn out to be testicles–gives weight to this idea” (The Guardian). However, there is also just as much speculation that the intersex/hermaphrodite theory was passed around to avoid acknowledging the significant contributions and academic potentials of women. Regardless of Dr. Barry’s biological sex, it is clear that they lived their life as a man and were able to achieve great success and make significant contributions to the field of medicine.
Dr. Barry’s story also sheds light on the challenges faced by women and other marginalized groups in pursuing careers and achieving recognition for their accomplishments. Despite their remarkable achievements and contributions to the medical field, Dr. Barry faced discrimination and prejudice due to their gender and identity. The fact that their service records were sealed by the British Army for 100 years after their death speaks to the pervasive biases and systemic barriers faced by women and other marginalized groups throughout history.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women and other underrepresented groups in various fields, including science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Dr. Barry’s story serves as an inspiration to many, and their legacy continues to inspire future generations of scientists and medical professionals.
In conclusion, Dr. James Barry, born Margaret Anne Bulkley, was a pioneering physician and military surgeon who made significant contributions to the field of medicine during a career spanning over 50 years. Their story challenges traditional notions of gender and identity and serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by women and other marginalized groups in pursuing careers and achieving recognition for their accomplishments. Despite these challenges, Dr. Barry’s legacy lives on, inspiring future generations of medical professionals and serving as a symbol of resilience, determination, and the power of perseverance in the face of adversity.
Dilhan Ezer Eryurt, born in 1926 in Izmir, Turkey, was a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to the field of astronomy. Her passion for math and astronomy led her to pursue higher education in Istanbul University, where she graduated with an astronomy degree in 1946. After two years of working as an honorary assistant with Tevfik Okyay Kabakçıoğlu, Dilhan was hired by Ankara University to open their astronomy department.
Despite being an expert mathematician and astronomer, Dilhan had no prior experience with computers, which were emerging as a major tool in research. However, she taught herself how to use computers through reading books, which ultimately enabled her to do her work more efficiently.
Dilhan’s dedication and hard work led her to earn a scholarship from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which allowed her to collaborate with Alastair G. W. Cameron, a Harvard astrophysicist who theorized that the Moon formed due to giant-impact hypothesis. This was a significant opportunity for Dilhan to gain invaluable experience and knowledge from a highly respected expert in the field.
After completing her scholarship in Canada, Dilhan moved to the United States to work for the Soroptimist Federation of America, where she collaborated with Marshall Wrubel at the Goethe Link Observatory. It was at this point in her career that she was hired by NASA and began working at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. She was the only female astronomer at NASA during that time.
Dilhan’s research at NASA focused on the formation and evolution of the sun. Her findings challenged the commonly held belief that the sun was increasing in brightness and warmth since its formation 4.5 billion years ago. She discovered that the sun was, in fact, decreasing in brightness and warmth, which was a groundbreaking discovery that would eventually contribute to the ability to send astronauts to space.
Through her work at NASA, Dilhan also modeled the effects of the sun on the Moon’s environment. Her research was crucial to the success of the Apollo 11 mission that landed on and explored the Moon, and she was awarded the Apollo Achievement Award in 1969 for her contribution. (Check out Ep. 51 & Ep. 52 on the Rosies of Mercury 13, the all-female astronaut group).
After spending several years working at NASA, Dilhan returned to Turkey in 1973 to found the Astrophysics Branch of the Physics Department at Middle East Technical University. Dilhan’s contribution to astronomy in Turkey was immense; she organized the first National Astronomy Congress in Turkey in 1968, with the support of TUBITAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey). Dilhan continued her research with NASA until 1973 and then returned to Turkey to establish the Astrophysics Branch of the Physics Department at Middle East Technical University. She was awarded the TUBITAK Science Award in 1977 for her remarkable work.
Dilhan became the Chairperson of the Physics Department in 1988, where she served for six months before becoming the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Literature. She served as Dean for five years and retired in 1993. Dilhan’s remarkable achievements in the field of astronomy earned her the title of the Turkish Mother of Astronomy, and she is remembered as a pivotal figure in encouraging Turkey to establish a national observatory.
In conclusion, Dilhan Eryurt was a trailblazing astronomer and researcher whose contributions to the field of astronomy and space travel were groundbreaking. She overcame significant challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field and was instrumental in enabling the successful moon landing of Apollo 11. Eryurt’s legacy continues to inspire young women to pursue careers in STEM fields, and she is remembered as the Turkish Mother of Astronomy.
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]]>“Women are strong, beautiful, & capable…of violent crime” (click for a good laugh).
But in all seriousness, it’s time for another Thorny Rosies episode, where we highlight some Rosies who used their powers for not-so-good.
Christiana Edmunds was born on October 3, 1828, in Kent, to William Edmunds, an architect, and Ann Christiana Burn. She was born into a privileged life and received private education. However, her life was plagued by potential familial and personal history with mental illness, as it was believed her father, one brother, and one sister were also afflicted.
In her early twenties, Christiana was diagnosed with hysteria, a common diagnosis for women during the Victorian era. After her father’s death, she was living with her mother and sister in Brighton when she began having an affair with local doctor Charles Beard, which lasted for about a year. The exact degree and nature of the affair is not entirely known, but it is confirmed that love letters were exchanged in which Christiana extravagantly declared her affections.
Dr. Beard claimed the affair never had a physical component, but there are suspicions that it did. At some point, Dr. Beard called off the affair for reasons unknown, which Christiana did not take well. Perhaps she thought that if she could do away with Dr. Beard’s wife, Emily, they could continue their relationship.
A few days later, Christiana went to the local confectioner and bought some chocolates to give to Mrs. Beard while the doctor was out of town. Mrs. Beard began to eat one piece but tasted something was wrong with it and spat out the chocolate. However, she had ingested enough of something to fall ill, but she recovered. Dr. Beard suspected Christiana had tampered with the confections but did not want to involve the police and potentially expose the scandal of an affair, so he confronted Christiana.
He accused her of attempting to poison his wife, which she denied, and forbade her from visiting their house again. Christiana’s extracurricular activities started picking up big time at this point. Unclear if this was an effort to shift the blame and maintain innocence or to try and get back at the Beards in a very roundabout manner, but Christiana’s activity escalated.
Christiana purchased strychnine from a local chemist, stating she needed it to poison some stray cats (not cool), and would purchase chocolates from the confectioner. She would then lace the chocolates with strychnine and return them to the store, stating they weren’t quite what she wanted. Eventually, to reduce the amount of face time she had with the confectioner to try and cover her tracks, she began having local boys purchase the chocolates for her, swap them out for poisoned batches, and have them return them to the store.
During this time, many people in the community were falling ill, but no connections had been made just yet. All of that changed when, in June 1871, a 4-year-old named Sidney Barker on vacation with his family, died after ingesting chocolates from the confectioner’s shop. The coroner identified strychnine as being present in Barker’s system, but his death was ruled accidental.
Strychnine, when administered in fatal doses, affects the nervous system to cause violent, spasming convulsions that eventually lead to suffocation, taking anywhere from 15-60 minutes to kill a person. An inquest was conducted in response to Sidney’s death, and Christiana even gave evidence against the confectioner, but had to continue her plan after no blame was placed on him.
Christiana was now sending chocolates and other confections, some of which she traveled to London to purchase, to prominent individuals throughout the community laced with arsenic, including Mrs. Beard AND HERSELF, to throw suspicion onto the confectioner himself, but the police eventually figured out the connection between all the poisonings. After her arrest, Christiana’s actions were investigated, and the extent of her plan became clear. She had been sending chocolates and other confections laced with arsenic to prominent individuals throughout the community, including Mrs. Beard and herself, to throw suspicion onto the confectioner himself.
During the trial, witnesses gave testimony regarding Christiana’s method of sending young boys into the shop, as well as the testimony of both the chocolatier, John Maynard, and local chemist, Isaac Garrett. Christiana’s mother also testified that mental illness ran in both sides of the family and had afflicted more than one individual within their nuclear family.
Entering into an insanity plea, a famed psychologist Dr. Henry Maudsley said of Christiana, “belonged to the ‘morally defective’ group of lunatics – a Victorian precursor for the later term of psychopath.” An expert witness testified that Christiana was indeed guilty by reason of insanity, as she was unable to distinguish right from wrong.
Christiana was found guilty and initially sentenced to death, but by entering into the insanity plea deal, she was committed to the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, where she remained for the rest of her life until she died in 1907.
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Arizona Donnie Clark “Kate” Barker, popularly known as Ma Barker, was born in 1872 or 1873 near Springfield, Missouri. Despite having an “ordinary” childhood, Kate was fascinated by the stories of outlaw Jesse James and his gang riding through her hometown. She later married George E. Barker in 1892 and raised their family of four sons in Aurora, Missouri. However, George was shiftless, and the family lived in poverty, moving from Webb City, Missouri, to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As soon as the Barker sons were old enough, they turned to a life of crime, with activities that included highway robbery and murdering a police officer. In 1927, Kate’s oldest son Herman killed himself to avoid jail time, and in 1928, the remaining three boys were all in prison. During this time, Kate kicked her husband out and lived in even worse poverty from 1928 to 1931. She apparently collected a few lovers during this time period and was living with Arthur W. Dunlop/Dunlap in a “common law” marriage in 1930.
However, things turned around in 1931 when son Fred was released early from prison and came home with friend and fellow prison inmate Alvin Karpis. They formed the Barker-Karpis gang and used the shack where Kate lived as their hideout. They then quickly robbed a department store and were confronted by the sheriff the next day, after which they shot the sheriff dead. This started the legacy of crime and terror that the gang had on the United States. For the first time, Ma Barker was officially recognized by law enforcement as an accomplice to their crimes. A $100 reward was offered for her capture, and her face was plastered on wanted posters.
The next year, sons Arthur and Lloyd were released from prison and joined the family business. The gang moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, aided by the corrupt chief of police. The Barker-Karpis gang escalated from bank robberies to kidnappings and ransom. Common law husband Arthur Dunlap apparently had quite loose lips when drinking and was found dead, naked in Webster, Wisconsin, due to a single gunshot wound in the head.
The FBI soon connected one of the kidnappings to the Barker-Karpis gang via fingerprints, which was brand new technology during this time. The Barker-Karpis gang then left St. Paul for Chicago to avoid capture and launder the ransom money from their recent kidnappings. However, January 8th, 1935, signaled the beginning of the end for Ma Barker and the Barker-Karpis gang. Arthur Barker was arrested, and the FBI confirmed the location of other gang members in Florida.
FBI agents surrounded the Florida house where Ma and Fred were hiding out early in the morning of January 16th. Special agents demanded that Ma and Fred surrender, to which someone responded, “All right, go ahead.” FBI agents interpreted this as a surrender; however, a four-hour shootout then began. Tear gas bombs and shots from rifles and machine guns were exchanged, and local high school students soon showed up to watch the whole thing go down.
Once the shots were no longer returned from inside the house, the FBI slapped a bulletproof vest on a local handyman named Willie Woodbury and had him go into the house to make sure it was safe. FBI agents then entered the residence to find Ma and Fred Barker dead. Ma Barker had died from a single bullet wound next to her son and the machine gun she was probably using.
Ma Barker’s body was displayed publicly next to her son Fred and then went unclaimed until October 1st that year when relatives buried them back in Oklahoma next to son Herman. Popular media has long depicted Ma Barker as the criminal mastermind behind the gang’s activities. However, gang members have disputed this portrayal, arguing that Ma Barker was not involved in their criminal operations and was simply a supportive mother who was unaware of her sons’ illegal activities. Despite this controversy, Ma Barker has become an iconic figure in American popular culture, often portrayed as a ruthless and cunning criminal mastermind. Her story has been the subject of numerous books, films, and television shows, perpetuating her myth as one of the most notorious female gangsters in American history.
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]]>In honor of Women’s History Month & all the incredible Rosies we’re continuing to celebrate, we want to celebrate you too, dear listener. So while you may not feel like a grand leader who will grace the herstory books some day, we encourage you to start with this amazing TED Talk & reflect on the power of every women to lead in their own lives: TEDxToronto – Drew Dudley “Leading with Lollipops”
Ida Maud Cannon was a remarkable woman who made an incredible impact on the field of social work, particularly in the medical context. Born on June 29th, 1877, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was the daughter of a railroad worker and a school teacher who tragically passed away from tuberculosis when Ida was just four years old. Her father had aspirations of becoming a physician, which eventually inspired Ida and her brother, Walter, to pursue medical careers.
During her childhood, Ida and her family mostly resided in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she eventually trained to become a nurse at the City and County Hospital Training School. She briefly worked at the state school for the feeble-minded and St. Paul Associated Charities as a nurse. However, her interest in social work led her to go back to school at the University of Minnesota.
Around this time, there was a significant social work movement taking place, and Ida was greatly inspired by a lecture given by Jane Addams while pursuing her sociology studies. Her experience with St. Paul Associated Charities helped her understand the relationship between health, disease, occupation, and more. She then dove further into social work studies at the Boston School for Social Work (which eventually became Simmons College).
During her time in school, Ida and her sister Bernice moved in with her now-physician brother and his family in Cambridge, where she would live for the rest of her life. Upon completing her education in social work, Richard Clark Cabot, a Harvard physician, hired Ida to be a social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1907.
Ida’s major focus was to make medical care more effective and “cure consumption,” also known as tuberculosis. She was named “Head Worker” in 1907, eventually becoming Chief of Social Service in 1914, where she would remain for 31 years. Ida focused on patients with tuberculosis, psychiatric disorders, sexually transmitted infections, unwed pregnant women, and pediatric orthopedic patients.
She frequently traveled throughout the United States to educate other hospitals on how to incorporate social work into their own clinical practices and how to educate other medical social workers. She collaborated with her alma mater to teach a medical social work course from 1912-1925.
During her career, Ida recognized the tremendous need and effort required to truly improve disease. She would go on to hire her department’s first educational director named Harriet Bartlett to help train social workers and clarify the function and duties of their work. This greatly contributed to the establishment of the modern-day medical social work field.
Ida co-founded the American Association of Hospital Social Workers in 1918, serving as their vice president and then president for two terms. She went on to become president of the Massachusetts Conference of Social Work in 1932 and was very active in annual conferences, state, and community advocacy.
Ida retired from social work in 1945 and then went on to write on the social frontier of medicine, pioneering and medical social service, as well as some highlights of 50 years: Massachusetts Conference of Social Work, 1903-1953.
In 1957, Ida moved into a nursing home and lived there for three years until her death in 1960. She was 83 years old. Some of her honors include honorary doctorates from Boston University and the University of New Hampshire, the Lemuel Shattuck Award from the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and more.
Ida’s contributions to the field of social work, particularly in the medical context, were remarkable. She recognized the importance of treating the whole person and not just their illness, paving the way for modern medical social work. Her pioneering work and advocacy have helped shape the modern-day medical social work field, and her contributions have been recognized with numerous awards and honors.
One of the most important things that we can learn from Ida’s life and work is the importance of understanding the relationship between health, disease, and social factors. Ida’s experiences working with patients with tuberculosis, psychiatric disorders, sexually transmitted infections, unwed pregnant women, and pediatric orthopedic patients showed her how these issues were often intertwined with social factors such as poverty, education, and access to health care.
Today, medical social workers continue to play a critical role in helping patients navigate these complex social and healthcare systems, providing emotional and practical support, advocating for patients’ rights, and helping to improve the overall quality of care.
In conclusion, Ida Maud Cannon was a remarkable woman who devoted her life to improving the lives of others through social work and medical service. Her contributions to the field of medical social work have been immeasurable, and her legacy continues to inspire and inform the work of medical social workers today.
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Merle Oberon was a trailblazer in the entertainment industry, becoming the first Asian actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. However, despite her achievements, few people today know about her remarkable life story. Born in Bombay, India in 1911, Merle was raised by her mother’s parents, Arthur Thompson and Charlotte Selby. Her mother, Constance, had been raped by an Anglo-Irish foreman, and Merle’s mixed heritage was a frequent source of racism and bullying growing up. Despite receiving a scholarship to one of the best private schools for girls in Calcutta, Merle was still relentlessly bullied.
In an attempt to escape her difficult upbringing, Merle began using lightening products on her skin and developing a posh British accent to try and become someone else. This coincided with her introduction to films and nightlife, which allowed her to embody the role of someone besides herself. Merle began making connections with various male suitors, some of whom helped her move from India to Europe, where she spent time in France and England and worked as a club hostess named Queenie O’Brien.
Her romantic involvement with director Alexander Korda shot Merle’s career into stardom. Her breakout role came in the form of Anne Boleyn in the 1933 film, The Private Life of Henry VIII. However, her heritage had to be quickly and quietly addressed, so it was fed to the press that “Merle Oberon” was born in Tasmania and whose birth records had been burned in a fire. Her dark-skinned, biological grandmother was passed off as her maid. Merle had to continue hiding her heritage, especially as she made the transition to Hollywood, where the Hays Code was enacted, making interracial relationships especially taboo and encouraging the use of yellowface and blackface rather than hiring the appropriate actors.
Despite these challenges, Merle continued to make a name for herself in Hollywood, working alongside big stars and becoming a recurring star in Samuel Goldwyn’s productions. In 1935, she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the drama Dark Angel, in which she plays a member of British aristocracy. Although she didn’t win, her nomination was a significant achievement at a time when Hollywood was overwhelmingly dominated by white actors and actresses.
Unfortunately, Merle’s use of lightening creams had damaged her skin, and she had scars from a car accident and an allergy to sulfa drugs. These factors may have contributed to a potential decline in her career. Her husband, cinematographer Lucien Ballard, even developed a special camera light to help obscure her scars, now known as the “Obie” light. Merle would go on to marry two more times and occasionally appeared on screen, mostly as a presenter on award shows or as a cameo on a game show.
However, the fact that Merle had to keep her heritage a secret likely held back her career. She threatened to sue her own nephew, who wanted to write a biography about her, stating she would cut him out of her will if he used real details. Additionally, a visit to Hobart, Tasmania, for a Lord Mayoral reception at a theater named after her got super awkward after she quickly dipped when officials said they had been unable to find any evidence that she was born in Tasmania.
Despite the challenges and obstacles she faced, Merle Oberon left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. Her legacy as a pioneering actress of color and a trailblazer for Asian representation in Hollywood will continue to inspire future generations. Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a testament to her achievements and a reminder of the need for greater diversity and inclusivity in the entertainment industry.
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]]>Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson is a remarkable individual whose achievements have had a significant impact on the field of physics and the broader scientific community. She is best known as the first African American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT in any subject, and the second African American woman to receive a doctorate in physics in the United States. But her contributions to the field of physics and the broader scientific community go well beyond her academic achievements.
Shirley Ann Jackson was born on August 5, 1946, to parents George Hiter Jackson and Beatrice Cosby Jackson. She was raised in Washington, D.C. and inspired by science from an early age. Her mother would read her the biography of Benjamin Banneker, an African American mathematician and scientist who aided in the development and building of Washington, D.C., and her father helped her with school projects. Jackson was also a curious child who collected bumblebees from her backyard in jars and documented her observations of their interactions and behaviors.
Two monumental events further spurred Shirley’s interest in science. The first was the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954, which allowed for integration of all public schools and created new educational opportunities in advanced and science programs that previously would not have been possible for Shirley to participate in. The second was the launch of Sputnik in 1957, which marked the start of the Space Race and brought the spotlight directly over the importance of science and mathematics.
Shirley attended Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C., where she graduated as valedictorian in 1964. She was encouraged by the assistant principal FOR BOYS to apply to MIT, because he knew that she was an excellent student and had the potential to succeed at the prestigious university. She was accepted to MIT, where at the time of her attendance, she was one of the first African American students and one of two women in her class. People often refused or were unwilling to work with her or even sit with her, but Shirley’s love for science and nature continued to inspire her, and she earned her B.S. in theoretical physics in 1968.
After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, she stayed at MIT to pursue and obtain her Ph.D. in nuclear physics. She conducted her research in the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics under the guidance of James Young, the first African American to receive full tenureship at MIT. Her thesis, “The Study of a Multiperipheral Model with Continued Cross-Channel Unitarity,” was published in the Annals of Physics in 1975.
After obtaining her doctoral degree, Shirley went on to work as a research associate at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where her primary area of interest was on hadrons, and she would work with Landau and Tang-Mills theories. She also served as a visiting science associate in Switzerland at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in 1975. Upon her return to the United States, in 1975, Shirley returned to Fermilab and was also elected to the MIT Corporation’s board of Trustees.
As an African American woman in the field of physics, Shirley faced many challenges and obstacles. She often had to work twice as hard as her colleagues to prove herself, and many times she was the only woman or person of color in the room. But her determination and dedication to her work paid off, and she quickly became a respected and admired member of the scientific community.
Dr. Shirley Jackson is truly an inspiration and a trailblazer in the fields of physics and academia. Despite facing discrimination and exclusion as an African American woman in a predominantly white, male-dominated field, she persevered and became the first African American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT in any subject, as well as the second African American woman to receive a doctorate in physics in the US.
Her love for science and nature, inspired by her parents and the events of Brown v. Board of Education and the launch of Sputnik, drove her to pursue a career in physics. Even when faced with adversity, she continued to excel academically and professionally, earning her BS, MS, and PhD degrees from MIT, and going on to conduct research at Fermilab and Bell Laboratories.
In addition to her impressive scientific accomplishments, Dr. Jackson has also been a leader in academia and government. She has served as the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and a member of numerous prestigious boards and committees.
Throughout her career, Dr. Jackson has been a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM fields, and has worked tirelessly to create opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in these areas. Her contributions to the scientific community and to society as a whole are immeasurable, and her legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire future generations of scientists and leaders.
Queen Tiye of the Land of Kmt was a remarkable woman who is remembered as the matriarch of the Amarna Dynasty. Her many titles, including Lady of The Two Lands, Great of Praises, and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt, indicate the immense influence and power she wielded during her lifetime. Despite not being of royal birth, Tiye grew up in the royal palace, as her father was a provincial priest or a Master of the Horse of the Royal Court, and her mother was a servant of the queen mother Mutemwiya. Her parents enjoyed a relatively elevated status compared to typical servants of their time.
Tiye’s importance to Egyptian history is underscored by her marriage to Amenhotep III, who was probably a prince when they wed. Tiye would have been about 11 or 12 at the time. Together, they had at least 2 sons and several daughters, including Crown Prince Thutmose, Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), and Beketaten.
Amenhotep III constructed a number of shrines in Tiye’s honor and dedicated a temple in Nubia to her, where she was worshipped as a form of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut. Tiye’s portraiture often featured new elements, such as cows’ horns and sun disks on her headdress, and her representation in the form of a sphinx, emphasizing her role as the king’s divine and earthly partner. Amenhotep III also built the largest known dyad statue of the two of them, and Tiye is of the same height as her husband, suggesting that she was his equal both domestically and publicly.
Tiye had tremendous influence at court, becoming her husband’s trusted confidante and advisor. She was extremely involved in foreign affairs, well-respected by dignitaries, and was the first Egyptian queen to be on the official record for her various duties and responsibilities. She worked with scribes and officials to oversee various administrative affairs of the Egyptian kingdom. Due to foreign kings wanting to marry their daughters, it was tremendously important for royal marriages to be well thought out, as their children would be in line to the Egyptian throne after all.
After Amenhotep III died in his 38th or 39th regnal year (approximately 1353 or 1350 BC), Tiye likely continued to advise pharaoh Akhenaten, her son formerly known as Amenhotep IV. Her influence continued to be documented in the Amarna letters, including one letter from a king of Mittani who corresponded directly with her. She also likely supported his efforts to embrace more of a monotheistic religion, even if she didn’t necessarily lean this way. More than likely, Tiye saw this as an opportunity to decrease the influence and wealth of the priests of Amun and promote the pharaoh’s power.
During her son’s reign, Tiye was often depicted as a doting and loving grandmother, seated with grandchildren in official artwork. She helped pave the way for Nefertiti, her daughter-in-law, to be as influential and powerful at court.
Tiye’s death is shrouded in mystery. The last official mention of her on record was in 1338 BC, and she was likely 48 or 49 years old. After her death, Akhenaten seemingly lost interest or abandoned much of his foreign policy dealings, losing several important territories and marking the eventual decline of the Amarna Period.
Tiye was likely originally buried at the Royal tomb in Amarna. However, when the capital moved back to Thebes, she and other mummies were transferred to the Valley of Kings. Tiye’s mummy was somewhat lost to time until three mummies were discovered in a side chamber of Amenhotep II’s tomb in 1898. She was identified first in 1976, then definitively confirmed as Queen Tiye in 2010 with DNA testing.
Her mummy now resides in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
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]]>Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was a Polish yachtswoman who made history in 1978 by becoming the first woman to sail solo around the world. Her voyage was an incredible feat that required bravery, determination, and a deep love of sailing.
Krystyna was born in Warsaw, Poland, on July 15th, 1936. After World War II, her family moved to Ostroda, a town located in a great lakes region, where she had her first experience on a yacht. From then on, she fell in love with big ships and decided to pursue a career in ship construction engineering. Krystyna attended the Gdansk University of Technology, where she studied ship construction engineering. After graduation, she began designing and building ships, a profession that would prove to be beneficial in her future solo sailing journey.
Krystyna also shared her love of sailing with her husband, Wacklaw Liskiewicz, a fellow yacht constructor. Wacklaw would oversee the construction of her custom yacht for her eventual solo voyage. In 1966, Krystyna earned her captain’s certificate and began sailing on various voyages with different crews. One of her earliest forays into caring for a yacht alone was sailing from the northern Baltic Sea to the Gulf of Bothnia as part of a two-person crew.
The United Nations declared 1975 as the International Women’s Year, and the Polish Sailing Association seized this as an opportunity to promote Polish sailing by having a woman sailor embark on the first solo sailing trip around the world. Poland was more known for its culture and history than sailing at the time, so this seemed ambitious all-around. Krystyna’s yacht was named Mazurek, which is a traditional Polish music genre, and was transported from Gdansk to the Canary Islands, where she would begin her solo sailing journey.
Aboard her yacht were supplies, tools, a radiotelephone, maps, and a shotgun for pirates and other “potential wrong-doers.” She first departed from the Canary Islands on March 10, 1976, but was forced back due to autohelm malfunctions. She then left on March 28 for real. Krystyna sailed from the Canary Islands west across the Atlantic and reached Barbados one month after leaving the Canary Islands. Her journey was not without its difficulties, as she experienced engine malfunctions, which took five weeks to fix in Panama.
Krystyna then ventured through the Panama Canal and sailed across the Pacific to Australia. In Australia, she was hospitalized for several weeks due to a significant kidney issue but resumed her voyage after she was well. She set sail for Cape Town via the Indian Ocean, eventually arriving in early 1978. She replenished her supplies, inspected her yacht, and left for the final leg of her journey on February 5, 1978.
During her journey, Krystyna encountered fierce storms in the South Atlantic ocean, to the point that the world feared she was lost at sea. However, she reestablished radio contact, and the last leg of her journey was perhaps the smoothest of the entire journey. She eventually landed back at the Canary Islands on March 20, 1978. Her journey took 401 days (travel days), traversing 28,696 miles.
Although Krystyna made history by becoming the first woman to sail solo around the world, the World Sailing Speed Record Council does not recognize circumnavigations through the Panama Canal. Therefore, Naomi James is officially recognized as the first, as she finished her voyage a month after Krystyna. However, Krystyna was selected as Gdansk’s Citizen of the Year in 1978 and awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia.
Krystyna’s voyage was a significant achievement for women in sailing and for Poland’s sailing community. Her determination and courage in the face of challenges, including illness and storms, inspired many others to take up sailing and follow in her footsteps.
Krystyna’s legacy continues to live on, both in Poland and around the world. She remains a symbol of strength and resilience, a role model for women in sailing and beyond. Her book, Pierwsza Dookota Swiata, has been translated into multiple languages and serves as a testament to her incredible journey.
Krystyna’s death in June 2021 was a loss for the sailing community and for Poland. However, her spirit and legacy continue to inspire generations to come. Her story reminds us of the power of determination, passion, and the strength of the human spirit.
Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was a trailblazer in the world of sailing, becoming the first woman to sail solo around the world in 1978. Her journey was filled with challenges and obstacles, but she persevered and inspired countless others to take up sailing and follow their dreams. Her legacy lives on today, serving as a symbol of strength, resilience, and determination.
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Born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, Bessie Coleman’s life journey was full of challenges and obstacles. However, with a passion for flying, determination, and resilience, she became the first African American and Native American woman to obtain an international pilot’s license. Bessie’s story is one of perseverance and defying the odds, as she rose from an impoverished background to become a successful aviator who inspired many.
Bessie was born to a family of 12 (or 13?) children, in a community near Paris, Texas, where nine Black men were lynched between 1890 and 1920. She experienced firsthand the segregation and racism that were rampant in her community. Black citizens were not allowed to use public facilities or transportation, meaning Bessie had to walk four miles to school at age six. The school itself was not well equipped, and students were not even guaranteed to have pencils and paper.
Bessie’s parents separated when her father moved to Oklahoma in search of better opportunities and to escape racism. However, her mother and the children stayed behind in Texas, moving to Waxahachie at some point in time. To earn money for school, Bessie helped her mother with laundry services and picking cotton. Despite financial constraints, she was determined to pursue her education.
At age 18, she enrolled at Langston University, but had to drop out after one semester due to lack of tuition funds. This setback did not deter her from pursuing her dreams. In 1915, she moved to Chicago and joined some of her brothers, attending the Burnham School of Beauty Culture. After World War I, Bessie’s brothers returned from Europe and began to regale her with stories of French women who attended flight school and obtained their pilot’s licenses. This sparked a fire in Bessie’s heart, and she became determined to become a pilot.
Initially, Bessie applied to numerous flight schools in the US, but her applications were rejected because of her race and gender.
However, Robert Abbott, a newspaper publisher, and one of the nation’s first African American millionaires, suggested that she apply to French flight schools. Abbott also helped partially fund her trip to France to attend flight school. Despite not knowing French, Bessie was undeterred and started taking night lessons to learn French so she could fill out the application forms in French. She was finally accepted to the Caudron Brothers’ School of Aviation in Le Crotoy, France, where she received her international pilot’s license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921, after seven months of training. This made her the first woman of African American and Native American heritage to hold a pilot’s license.
After earning her license, Bessie traveled to Germany, where she received further training from former World War I flying aces. She then returned to the United States, where she began performing tricks and giving speeches to raise money to open her own flight school and buy her own plane. However, Bessie is also recognized for her staunch opposition to segregation. She refused to speak or perform shows at places that were segregated or did not admit African Americans. She also encouraged women and African Americans to learn to fly and even halted a flight show one time at a stadium in Texas until they did away with the segregated entrances and allowed everyone to enter through one entrance.
In 1922, Bessie performed the first public flight by an African American woman and became famous for her loop-the-loops and figure 8 formations. She was invited as a guest of honor to a showing of Shuffle Along, an all-Black musical, with Mattel’s “Inspiring Women” line of dolls. The Bessie Coleman doll is designed to inspire young girls to pursue their dreams and break down barriers, just as Bessie did.
Bessie Coleman’s legacy as the first African American and Native American woman to earn a pilot’s license is still felt today. She was not only a pioneer in aviation, but also in the fight for civil rights and equality. Her courage and determination paved the way for future generations of women and people of color to pursue their dreams, despite facing discrimination and obstacles.
Her story is a reminder that no matter where you come from or what challenges you face, you have the power to achieve greatness. Bessie Coleman’s life and achievements continue to inspire people around the world to pursue their dreams, and to work towards a future where everyone has equal opportunities and rights.
Bessie Coleman’s life was marked by poverty, segregation, and discrimination, but she refused to let those obstacles hold her back. She was determined to pursue her dream of flying, even if it meant traveling to France to attend flight school. Her perseverance, bravery, and trailblazing spirit made her a true pioneer in aviation and civil rights. Bessie Coleman’s legacy continues to inspire people around the world to reach for the skies and break down barriers.
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]]>Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker and activist who risked her life during World War II to save Jewish children from the Nazis. Her courage, determination, and selflessness helped to save the lives of thousands of children, and her story has become an inspiration to people around the world.
Irena was born on February 15, 1910, in Otwock, a town near Warsaw. Her parents were both doctors, and they instilled in her a strong sense of social justice and compassion for others. As a young woman, Irena became involved in the Polish Socialist Party, and later studied at the University of Warsaw, earning a degree in social work.
When World War II broke out in 1939, Irena was working for the Warsaw Social Welfare Department, which was responsible for providing aid and assistance to the city’s poorest and most vulnerable residents. When the Nazis invaded Poland and established the Warsaw Ghetto, where they confined the city’s Jewish population, Irena and her colleagues were horrified by the conditions they saw there.
Despite the danger, Irena and a group of her colleagues began working to help the Jews in the ghetto. They smuggled food, medicine, and other supplies into the ghetto, and provided false identity documents to help Jewish people escape. As the situation in the ghetto became increasingly dire, Irena began to focus her efforts on rescuing Jewish children.
To do this, Irena and her colleagues created a network of people who would help smuggle the children out of the ghetto and find them safe homes with non-Jewish families. They gave the children new identities and taught them to pass as non-Jewish, hoping to protect them from Nazi persecution. Irena herself smuggled children out of the ghetto, sometimes hiding them in bags or carts, and always using false identities to protect their true Jewish heritage. She kept detailed records of the children’s names and locations, hoping to one day reunite them with their families.
Irena and her colleagues knew that their work was incredibly dangerous, and that they risked arrest, torture, and death if they were caught. But they also knew that they could not stand by and watch as innocent children were sent to their deaths. Their work was a testament to their courage and compassion, and to their unwavering belief in the dignity and worth of every human life.
Unfortunately, Irena and her colleagues were eventually discovered by the Nazis. In 1943, Irena was arrested and taken to the infamous Pawiak prison in Warsaw, where she was interrogated, tortured, and sentenced to death. But even in the face of death, Irena refused to betray her colleagues or the children she had saved. She was sentenced to be executed, but her colleagues managed to bribe a guard and rescue her from the prison. Irena went into hiding, continuing her work to save Jewish children until the end of the war.
After the war, Irena worked tirelessly to reunite the children with their surviving relatives and to provide them with education and support. She was recognized for her bravery and selflessness, receiving numerous awards and honors from around the world. But for many years, her story was largely forgotten, overshadowed by other stories of heroism and sacrifice during the war.
It was not until the 1990s that Irena’s story began to receive the recognition it deserved. In 1999, a group of students in Kansas discovered her story while researching for a school project. They wrote a play about her life, which was later turned into a book and a movie, helping to spread awareness of her bravery and selflessness.
Irena’s legacy continues to inspire people around the world today. Her courage and compassion remind us of the power of the human spirit to overcome even the darkest of times, and her unwavering belief in the value of every human life serves as a shining example of the kind of person we should all strive to be. Her life teaches us that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, we can make a difference in the world by standing up for what is right and fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. Irena Sendler’s name may not be as well-known as some other heroes of World War II, but her legacy lives on as a reminder of the incredible power of love, compassion, and selflessness in the face of hatred and oppression.
Margaret “Molly” Brown was an American philanthropist, socialite, and activist who is perhaps best known for surviving the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. But her legacy extends far beyond this single event. Throughout her life, Molly Brown was a champion of women’s rights, workers’ rights, and social justice, and her legacy continues to inspire people around the world today.
Molly Brown was born on July 18, 1867, in Hannibal, Missouri. Her parents were both immigrants, and her father worked as a miner, struggling to provide for his family. Despite this, Molly was determined to get an education, and she attended a school run by her aunt. She later moved to Leadville, Colorado, where she worked as a seamstress and a waitress to support herself.
In Leadville, Molly met J.J. Brown, a successful mining engineer, and the two were married in 1886. Their marriage was one of love and mutual respect, and J.J. encouraged Molly to pursue her own interests and passions. Together, they had two children, Lawrence and Catherine.
Molly and J.J. Brown became very wealthy as a result of J.J.’s mining ventures, and they quickly became part of Denver’s social elite. But Molly was never content to simply be a socialite. She was passionate about social justice and dedicated her life to making a difference in the world.
One of Molly’s earliest causes was women’s suffrage. She was a member of the Denver Woman’s Club and the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and she worked tirelessly to promote women’s right to vote. She used her social standing and her wealth to support suffrage campaigns and to lobby politicians for change.
Molly was also deeply committed to workers’ rights. She was horrified by the poor working conditions and low wages that miners and other laborers faced, and she worked to improve their lives. She founded the Colorado chapter of the National Women’s Trade Union League, which helped women workers to organize and fight for better pay and working conditions.
Molly’s commitment to social justice extended to her efforts to improve education and health care. She helped to establish a kindergarten for working-class children in Denver, and she funded a hospital in France during World War I. She was also a patron of the arts, supporting local artists and musicians and helping to establish the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
But it was Molly’s actions during the sinking of the Titanic that truly made her a hero. On the night of April 14, 1912, Molly was on board the Titanic with her husband, returning from a trip to Europe. When the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink, Molly helped to organize and lead the women and children in her lifeboat. She urged the crew to return to the wreckage and look for survivors, and she worked to provide comfort and support to those who had lost loved ones.
After the disaster, Molly’s reputation as a hero spread around the world. She was hailed as the “unsinkable” Molly Brown, a nickname she disliked, but that stuck with her for the rest of her life. She used her newfound fame to promote the causes she cared about, traveling the country to speak out on issues like women’s suffrage and workers’ rights.
Molly Brown’s legacy continues to inspire people today. She was a woman of immense courage, determination, and compassion, who used her privilege and her resources to make a difference in the world. Her life serves as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, we can all do our part to make the world a better place.
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]]>The post The Women of Mercury 13 appeared first on The Riveting Rosies.
]]>This week on the podcast, we’re continuing our conversation on Mercury 13. If you haven’t listened to Ep. 51 yet, make sure you do that first, then jump back into this episode.
Mercury 13, also known as First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs), were thirteen women selected for a privately funded program to select and train women to travel into space.
Today we’re covering each member of the FLATs in this jam-packed episode, so grab your tea & settle in for an amazing review of the Mercury 13.
Myrtle K. Thompson Cagle was born on June 3, 1925. When she was 14 years old she earned her wings and thus became the youngest pilot in the state of North Carolina, possibly the entire United States.
In high school, she joined the Aeronautics class, but unfortunately the class instructor was drafted into World War II. So Myrtle finished the school year as the instructor of the course. She earned her private pilot’s license at age 19, and soon after joined the Civic Air Patrol and the 99s.
In 1961, Myrtle was asked to participate in the new women in Space Program. At this time she had already logged 4,300 hours of flying time so she was a natural choice for the program.
After Mercury 13, Myrtle returned to flight instructing and also enrolled at Mercer University. she continued her involvement in the Civic Air Patrol and competed in the international women’s air race in 1964. Myrtle is noted to continue flying well into her 70s, even after she retired from flight instruction. She was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame in 2003. Myrtle died at the age of 94 in 2019.
Geraldine “Jerrie” M. Cobb was born on March 5, 1931 in Norman, Oklahoma. She first flew at age 12, and at age 16 she was barnstorming around the Midwest. When she was 17, she earned her private pilot’s license and received her commercial pilot’s license at age 18.
In her twenties, Jerrie set three Aviation records and became the first woman to fly in the Paris Air Show. When she was 28 years old, Jerrie became a pilot & manager for Aerodesign and Engineering Company, making her one of the few women executives in the aviation industry.
In 1961, NASA appointed Jerrie as a Space Program consultant. Jerrie completed all three stages of the physical and psychological evaluations that were used to select the first Mercury astronauts – her scores placed her in the top 2% of all astronaut candidates. Unfortunately, this was not an official NASA program, & Jerry could not gather enough support in Congress to officially add women to the astronaut program.
In 1962 Jerry testified in a congressional hearing about women astronauts, but sexist John Glenn stated that “men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes”, and “the fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order.” Just a couple months later the Soviet Union sent the first woman into space.
After her Mercury 13 involvement, Jerry was heavily involved in missionary work to South America, often transporting supplies and surveying new air travel routes. Jerry is known for pioneering various routes across the Andes Mountains and the rainforest of the Amazons, and she was even nominated for the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize for her work
Jerry campaigned with the National Organization for Women in 1999 to study the effects of weightlessness on the aging body, similar to what John Glenn did. NASA declined, stating they didn’t want any senior citizens not named John Glenn.
Jerry received numerous Aviation Awards and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2012. She died on March 18, 2019 at 88 years old.
Janet Dietrich & Marion Dietrich were identical twin sisters born in 1926. The sisters began flying at early ages and were the only girls in their high school aviation class.
The sisters entered the inaugural Chico to San Mateo Air Race in 1947 and won first place, much to the chagrin of their experienced male pilot counterparts. The twins continued to fly together, earning second place in the 1951 all women’s transcontinental race. In 1960, the twins were selected for the Mercury 13 program and underwent testing at the Lovelace clinic in Albuquerque
After Mercury 13, Marion Dietrich passed away in 1974 from cancer. Janet ended her flying career after her sister passed away, & she died at 81 years old in 2008.
Mary Wallace Funk was born February 1, 1939. She grew up in New Mexico and was obsessed with planes. She started making planes out of balsa wood at age 7 and she had her first flying lesson when she was 9 years old.
After earning her associate’s degree, she enrolled at Oklahoma State University and joined the Flying Aggies program, earning many awards. When she was 20, she began working as a civilian flight instructor for the United States Army and became the first woman flight instructor on a US military base.
Wally volunteered for the Women in Space Program in 1961, and although she was younger than the recruited age range, she still got to participate. On some of the physical and psychological evaluations, she scored higher than John Glenn.
After Mercury 13, Wally applied to NASA three times and was rejected each time because she did not have an engineering degree or test pilot experience. but this didn’t stop Wally. On July 20, 2021, Wally flew on the Blue Origin New Shepard flight at the age of 82, becoming the oldest person to fly in space at the time.
Wally still lives in Grapevine, Texas and may still be flying as an instructor.
Sarah Gorelick Ratley was born August 30, 1933. She learned to fly when she was 16 and went on to race in the Powder Puff Derby and even did tours with the 99s women’s pilot group. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in math from the University of Denver and minored in physics, chemistry, and aeronautics.
After Mercury 13, she went to work at the Internal Revenue Service as an accountant and received her honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Wisconsin in 2007. She died March 17, 2020.
Jane “Janey” Briggs Hart was born October 21, 1921. Janie was raised in Detroit, then attended Manhattanville College in New York. She married Philip Hart in 1943, & they had nine children together (one died at a very young age).
Philip was very involved in politics, and Janie was very active in his political campaigns, even flying him to various campaign stops.
In the early 1960s, she participated in the Women in Space Program and qualified at the age of 40.
Janey was a founding member of the National Organization for Women and actively opposed the Vietnam War, even opposing some of her husband’s political stances. However the couple were fiercely supportive of each other, even if they did not always agree politically.
Janey was inducted into the Michigan’s Hall of Fame in 2007, and she died of Alzheimer’s complications on June 5, 2015.
Jean Hickson was born September 30, 1922 in Hoopeston, Illinois. She began flying lessons when she was 16, and by 18, she earned her pilot’s license. Shortly after, she began training with the Women’s Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) and even flew B25s as a test pilot during World War II. Following World War II, she was a flight instructor in Akron, Ohio and also earned her Elementary and secondary education degree from Akron University.
When she was 35 years old, Jean became the second woman to exceed Mach 1.
After Mercury 13, she retired from the Air Force Reserves as a colonel in 1982 and also led a WASP reunion in that same year. She died on September 21, 1984 from cancer.
Rhea Waltman was born November 6, 1928. She grew up in Minnesota in a family of six children. Even from an early age, she always desired to fly. Rhea attended St. Cloud Teachers’ College after high school, and moved to Texas where she started training to become a pilot.
She started first as a private pilot, then moved to a commercial pilot, and even earned her seaplane rating and her glider pilot rating. She often raced, including the International Women’s Air Race and the Powder Puff Race, and completed a solo flight on a plane with floats from Houston to Anchorage.
Not much is known about her post-Mercury 13 career, but we do know that she retired her pilot’s license in 2014. The University of Wisconsin awarded Rhea an honorary doctorate in 2007, and she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame the next year. She died February 15, 2021 at the age of 92.
Gene Nora Stumbough Jessen was born in 1937 in Chicago. She began flying while in high school, and even joined the Civic Air Patrol as a high school student. She later attended Oklahoma University, where she was also noted to play the cello in the school’s orchestra. In 1959, Jean became the first woman flight instructor at OU; she was also still a college student at this time.
She graduated from OU in 1961 and the same year went to the Women in Space Program, after finding out about this program from Wally Funk.
In 1962, Gene began working for Beechcraft and moved to Boise, Idaho with husband Bob, where they ran their own beechcraft dealership.
Gene was appointed by President LBJ to the FAA women’s advisory committee, also serving as the president of the 99s between 1988 and 1990. She earned her honorary doctorate from University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 2007. Gene only stopped flying in 2017, when macular degeneration forced her hand. Gene wrote and published a book in 2018 called Sky Girls.
Irene Leverton was born March 3, 1927. Irene is noted to have begun her flying career at the age of 17 in 1944 and continued a very active career until retiring in 2011. An active member of the 99s, she was selected for the Women in Space Program.
After Mercury 13, she graduated from San Jose State College in 1976. She settled in Prescott Arizona and founded her business Aviation Resource Management in 1985.
During her Aviation career, Irene was a pilot, a flight instructor, and a check pilot. Irene died on July 23, 2017 at the age of 90.
Geraldine “Jerri” Hamilton Sloan Truhill was born November 12, 1929. She showed an early interest in aviation but was unfortunately discouraged from pursuing a career in aviation due to the rampant sexism during this era.
However this did not stop Jerri. At 15, she began taking flying lessons without her parents’ knowledge or approval.
This experience must not have swayed Jerri because, as we know, she was definitely a flying legend. Jerri worked with her husband Joe for Texas Instruments Incorporated.
Jerri Truhill was called up by good friend Jerrie Cobb in 1961 to recruit her for the Women in Space Program.
After Mercury 13, Jerri and her husband Joe bought a P-51 Mustang, even did a little modeling in a pink lycra flight suit. The couple settled in Richardson where Jerry lived until her death on November 18, 2013.
Bernice Trimble Steadman was born July 9, 1925. Tragically when she was one year old, her father and siblings were killed in a house fire.
After graduating from Flint Central High School in Michigan, she worked at AC spark plug to save money for flying lessons. She even got her pilot’s license before she even got her driver’s license.
After working as a charter pilot, she opened her own flight school and charter company called Trimble Aviation. Bernice was one of the first women to earn an airline transport rating in the United States – this is one of the highest ratings that a pilot can receive apparently.
Bernice also served on the FAA’s Women Advisory Committee. Bernice published her autobiography in 2001, which covered much of her experience on Mercury 13 as well as LBJ’s efforts to stop the Women in Space Program. In 2002, she was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame and in 2003 she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Bernice died when she was 89 years old in 2015 of Alzheimer’s disease complications. She and her husband Robert were married for 56 years.
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]]>The First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs) were a group of 13 women selected for a privately funded program to select and train women to travel into space. Nicknamed the Mercury 13 in response to the group of men who would go into space, the Mercury 7, they actually never made it to space due to (surprise, surprise) the patriarchy.
In 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit in space, kicking off the great space race. Both countries were HIGHLY motivated to dominate space, sparing no expense and working at *astronomical* speeds to make it happen. After sending dogs and monkeys into space, the next great target was to send a human into space.
While it was originally thought that individuals with aviation and maritime experience would be best suited for the program, it was also postulated that people interested in extreme sports would be good candidates. President Dwight D. Eisenhower believed, and pushed for, military test pilots as the best candidates, as they had already trained for and passed rigorous training, pipelining the candidate pool for the astronaut program.
NASA’s Special Advisory Committee on Life Sciences, led by physician Dr. William Randolph “Randy” Lovelace (relation to Ada remains unclear but unlikely), began to formulate rigorous physical and mental tests to be performed on candidates for space travel. While screening male candidates, Dr. Lovelace was very interested in how women would do in space, believing their smaller size and lighter weight would be better suited for space travel.
Two of the greatest concerns plaguing NASA regarding human space travel included oxygen consumption and the impact of weight on drag effect during takeoff. Working with Air Force Brigadier General Don Flickinger, pilot Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb was the first woman to be recruited to the FLATs.
Cobb and Lovelace reviewed over 700 records for potential candidates, all pilots with over 1,000 flying hours, eventually settling on 25 individuals to be invited for testing. While an unofficial, non-sanctioned program, Dr. Lovelace was able to obtain funding through the very wealthy husband of famed pilot, Jackie Cochran.
Of the originally selected 25, 19 women were brought to Albuquerque for Phase I testing, completed over the spring and summer of 1961. Candidates underwent comprehensive physical exams (including a gyno exam??), X-rays, EKGs, & EEGs.
In total, 13 women passed the Phase I tests, comprising the Mercury 13: Myrtle Cagle, Jerrie Cobb, Janet Dietrich, Marion Dietrich, Wally Funk, Sarah Ratley, Janey Briggs Hart, Jean Hixson, Rhea Woltman, Gene Nora Jessen, Irene Leverton, Jerri Truhill, & Bernice Steadman.
Three of the women (Jerrie Cobb, Rhea Woltman, and Wally Funk) were able to go on to Oklahoma for Phase II testing, but some of the other candidates were unable to due to work or family obligations. Cobb was the only Mercury 13 candidate to complete and pass all three phases of testing, ranking in the top 2% of candidates OF ALL GENDERS.
Because the Mercury 13 were not an official program of NASA, Lovelace was denied access to the flight simulation facilities in Pensacola for his female candidates. On top of that, the Navy ordered a stop to Lovelace’s project, halting testing in Pensacola and bringing the FLATs program to a close.
Jerrie Cobb flew to DC to petition the reinstatement of FLATs and to try and make it an official program within NASA, working with Janey Hart to write to JFK and VP LBJ. Eventually House Rep Victor Anfuso (D-NY) convened a special subcommittee hearing in 1962, investigating the potential of GENDER DISCRIMINATION, which would later become illegal through the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“on the basis of sex,” anybody?)
Even after the passing of the Civil Rights Act, it took a 1972 amendment for women to be granted legal assistance to enter into space. Women would not be included in the official roster of NASA astronaut candidates until 1978 when the jet fighter pilot experience was no longer a qualification (Sally Ride).
Astroturds John Glenn and Scott Carpenter testified on behalf of NASA, stating women were not suitable candidates for the program since they did not meet eligibility criteria for completing military test pilot training and holding engineering degrees, EVEN THOUGH John Glenn admitted he earned a spot in the Mercury program without having the required education (so you go ahead and apply for that job even if you don’t meet all the required qualifications).
In a shocking and very unsisterly turn of events, Jackie Cochran testified AGAINST the reinstatement of FLATs, stating a large number of candidates would more than likely drop out because of “marriage, childbirth, and other causes.”
Because of the halt of the FLATs program, the USSR succeeded in putting the first woman in space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, aged 26, who arguably was less qualified than any of the Mercury 13 members. Jerrie Cobb was quoted a day after Valentina’s space flight to say, “a shame that since we are eventually going to put a woman into space, we didn’t go ahead and do it first.” When Valentina later met Jerrie Cobb, she apparently told her that Jerrie had been her role model, asking, “we always figured you would be first. What happened?”
A very interesting note–because this was an unofficial, off-the-books program, these women were not brought in and tested as a group like the men, but rather individually or in pairs. Due to this, the original Mercury 13 never met in person as a group until 1994.
Despite the disappointing conclusion to the FLATs program, these brave women boldly paved the way for those who would go on to become official NASA astronauts (including previously-covered Rosie, Mae Jemison).
The women of Mercury 13 had absolutely no guarantee that they would ever get to go into space, but still chose to undergo rigorous, grueling training that pushed them to their physical and mental limits, because they believed their actions today would create a more equal tomorrow.
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]]>Welcome to our first Tipsy Rosies episode! We are celebrating FIFTY EPISODES of The Riveting Rosies Podcast, so pop the bubbly!
Goesaert v. Cleary was a 1948 US Supreme Court case challenging the Public Acts of Michigan 1945, which limited women’s ability to be a licensed bartender.
A few short years after the passing of the 21st Amendment, WWII broke out, which led to the majority of the male American workforce being pulled to the frontlines of the Pacific and European campaigns. This meant that women stepped up to fill the vacancies within the workforce, INCLUDING within the alcohol industries. This led to many women filling the roles of servers, bartenders, mixologists, and owners of liquor joints (for more on amazing Rosies in the brewing industry, check out our earlier episode Beer Witches).
Fast forward, WWII ended, and men were returning to the workforce only to discover women were doing it better. Many states then began to pass laws and acts that went so far as to outright forbid women from holding any role that would essentially grant them working rights.
Bartending unions jumped on this bandwagon and eagerly sought to keep women out of memberships and jobs revolving around the alcohol industry. Within the state of Michigan, women were outright banned from working as licensed bartenders unless related to a bar owner.
Valentine Goesaert was having none of this, however. She was a Dearborn resident whose husband owned a family bar, and upon his death, Valentine and her daughter decided they wanted to continue the family business. Unfortunately, because her husband was no longer alive, the state repealed her bartending license.
Valentine then got together with 24 of her closest gal pals who worked as tavern owners or bartenders, and represented by Anne Davidow (see more on her below), took their case to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. While the law was upheld by the district court, they then took it up to SCOTUS. In their case, Goesaert stated the law was in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. SCOTUS ruled 6-3 in favor of the Michigan law in order to protect women from “morally corrupt work environments” (nyhistory.org). The Michigan law itself was repealed in 1955, largely due to the persistent activism of the Michigan Barmaids Association, but the damage to social progress had been done
**Now a quick intermission to talk about bar-certified badass Anne Davidow**
Anne Davidow was born in 1898, & upon graduating from the University of Detroit Law School, joining the bar association in 1920. She had also applied to the Detroit College of Law, which was the same school her brother had attended, but was rejected ON THE BASIS OF SEX. Did that stop Anne though? Of course not.
Anne and her brother worked together at their firm, Davidow & Davidow, serving as the counsel for the Reuther brothers and the United Automobile Workers labor union. Anne obviously represented Goesaert in the case, which would eventually become a cornerstone of Congresswoman Martha Griffiths’ argument in the eventual passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Today, Goesaert v. Cleary is now a part of law school curriculums nationwide.
Later, Anne would serve as president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, keeping her maiden name the entire time she practiced law. She died in 1991.
In her biography, Anne is quoted as saying, “‘I was quite radical in the sense that I couldn’t see any reason a woman couldn’t do anything a man could do.’” (thrillist.com)
*Back to the court case*
Goesaert v. Cleary was eventually overturned by the case Craig v. Boren in 1976, which declared statutory or administrative sex classifications were subject to intermediate scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause (Wikipedia). FUN FACT: NOTORIOUS RBG served as an advising attorney for the plaintiff during her time with the American Civil Liberties Union (see previously published Episode 13–Supreme Court Justices). She ALSO presided over a re-enactment of the court case in 2017 at an event sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society and the Women’s Bar Association of DC
Today, (at least until the COVID-19 outbreak), 58% of bartenders in the modern hospitality industry are women, & February 24 is celebrated as World Bartender Day.
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