Women's History Calendar

November Highlights in US Women's History

  • Nov 1, 1848 - First medical school for women, the Boston Female Medical School, opens and eventually merges with Boston University, in 1874, to become one of the world's first coed medical schools.
  • Nov 28, 1858 - The Young women's Christian Association (YWCA) is founded by 35 women
  • Nov 28, 1881 - The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is founded
  • Nov 14, 1889 - Journalist Elizabeth Cochran, aka Nellie Bly, sails around the world in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds, beating the fictional record set by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.
  • Nov 14, 1903 - The women's National Trade Union League is established.
  • Nov 8, 1910 - The state of Washington passes a constitutional amendment to permit woman suffrage.
  • Nov 13, 1938 - Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini is beatified. She is the first American woman citizen to become a saint.
  • Nov 14, 1946 - Emily Greene Balch, co-founder of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Nov 11, 1979 - Bethune Museum and Archives is established in Washington DC as center for African-American women's history.
  • Nov 9, 1984 - Dr. Anna L. Fisher, a physician, is the first American mother, and third woman, to fly into space on the shuttle Discovery.
  • Nov 11, 1993 - The Vietnam Women's Memorial by sculptor Glenna Goodacre is dedicated in Washington, DC. Conceived by former army combat nurse Diane Carlson Evans, it honors the 265,000 women who served during the Vietnam era.

November Birthdays

  • Nov 5, 1857 (1944) - Ida Tarbell - investigative reporter, wrote expose on Standard Oil that led to federal investigation and break-up of the company
  • Nov 6, 1897 (1980) - Dorothy Day - Social Reformer; co-founded the "Catholic Worker"
  • Nov 11, 1744 (1818) - Abigail Adams - Politically influential First Lady; early advocate for women's rights
  • Nov 12, 1815 (1902) - Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Feminist; Suffragist; organized Seneca Falls convention in 1848; First president of the Women's National Suffrage Assn.; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal."
  • Nov 15, 1887 (1986) - Georgia O'Keefe - Artist
  • Nov 18, 1857 (1950)- Rose Knox - Recognized as one of America's foremost businesswomen. Co-founder of Knox Gelatin Co. Following her husband's death, she leads company "in a woman's way," initiating five-day workweek, two-week vacation, sick leave.
  • Nov 18, 1945 - Wilma Mankiller - Chief of Cherokee Nation
  • Nov 20, 1896 (1965) - Rose Pesotta - Union organizer and leader of the International Ladies Garment Worker Union (ILGWU)
  • Nov 20, 1910 (1985) - Pauli Murray - Civil Rights lawyer; Episcopal priest; first black person to earn a doctorate at Yale Law School, 1965
  • Nov 22, 1943 - Billie Jean King - Tennis champion; won 20 Wimbledon titles and the most Grand Slam titles for an American
  • Nov 24, 1921 (1992) - Yoshiko Uchida - Author of 26 books dealing with the Japanese-American experience
  • Nov 29, 1832 (1888) Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women
  • Nov 30, 1924 - Shirley Chisholm - First black Congresswoman, 1969-1980; First woman and first African-American presidential Democratic nominee, receiving 151 delegate votes at the Democratic Convention in 1972.