May 19, 1969: In what seemed like a courtroom scene from another era, Bill Baird was sentenced to three months in prison today for distributing a contraceptive device to an unmarried woman.
Today in Herstory: Jacqueline Cochran Breaks Boundaries in Aviation
May 18, 1953: Jacqueline Cochran has just become the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound – and that wasn’t the end of her record-breaking day.
Today in Herstory: Suffragists Stage Open-Air Rally in Manhattan
May 13, 1909: Clearly not reluctant to venture into hostile territory in search of converts, Edith Bailey, Harriot Stanton Blatch and several other suffragists held a rally today near the church of militant anti-suffragist Rev. Dr. Charles Henry Parkhurst on Manhattan’s Madison Square.
Today in Herstory: Congress Approves the Creation of a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps
May 12, 1942: Legislation to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) got final Congressional approval today with a Senate vote of 38 to 27.
Today in Herstory: Mass Meeting Held to Edit the US Constitution to Give Women the Vote
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory column. May 7, 1894: A lively and well-attended mass meeting was held at Cooper Union in Manhattan earlier this evening, and there certainly seemed to be plenty of people willing to do whatever it takes to remove a single word from the New York State Constitution, which presently grants […]
Today in Herstory: The Suffrage Parade is Bigger Than Ever
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory column. May 6, 1911: Anyone who still doubts that the woman suffrage movement is rapidly gaining support must have been a long way from New York’s Fifth Avenue earlier today. The turnout for this year’s annual suffrage parade was unprecedented, with at last 3,000 marching from 57th Street to […]
Today in Herstory: Rose Pastor Stokes Causes Sensation By Distributing Birth Control Information
May 5, 1916: Rose Pastor Stokes has caused a sensation in Carnegie Hall by distributing small slips of paper containing birth control information, a clear violation of Section 1142 of the New York State Penal Code. She took this step at a mass meeting called to celebrate Emma Goldman’s release from prison, where she had just served two weeks in the workhouse for the same offense.
Today in Herstory: Large Suffrage Parade Takes New York City
May 4, 1912: What a great day this has been for “Votes for Women” advocates!
Today in Herstory: Suffragists Take Aim at Senator O’Gorman
April 30, 1915: There was a quite frustrating and somewhat heated exchange of views this afternoon as Inez Milholland Boissevain, Doris Stevens and several other members of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage met with U.S. Senator James O’Gorman, Democrat of New York.
Today in Herstory: Women Teachers Mount Fight for Equal Pay
April 29, 1905: “Equal pay for equal work” is the demand of an insurgent group of women teachers led by Anna Louise Goessling of P.S. 44 in Brooklyn, New York.
Today in Herstory: Fifth Annual League of Women Voters Convention Held in Critical Election Year
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory columnn. April 28, 1924: Though this is the fifth annual national convention of the League of Women Voters, it’s the first one to be held in a presidential election year since the battle for the suffrage amendment ended in victory on August 26, 1920, so it’s an especially exciting […]
Today in Herstory: New York Will No Longer Enforce Prohibition on Married Teachers
April 27, 1904: A victory today for female teachers who wish to marry, and for women’s rights in general.
Today in Herstory: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Endorses Family Planning Information Being Widely Available
April 23, 1963: A major advance today in the fight for birth control, as the prestigious American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists officially endorsed giving contraceptive information to those who want it.
Today in Herstory: It’s Official! Suffrage Will Be on the PA Ballot in the 1921 Election
April 22, 1919: Pennsylvania suffragists have never lacked determination and today their persistence paid off, as the House passed a bill – by an almost two-to-one margin – to put a suffrage referendum on the State ballot in 1921.
Today in Herstory: Suffragists Push On Across the Nation – and the World
April 21, 1913: This certainly has been a newsworthy day for woman suffrage!
Today in Herstory: NYC Suffrage Offices Prep For (Another) Big Parade
April 20, 1912: There is great excitement and activity today at two New York City suffrage offices, as the day of the big parade approaches.
Today in Herstory: FDR Calls on Women for More Support in Wartime
April 17, 1943: While asking for even greater involvement and sacrifice by women in our war effort, President Roosevelt noted today that women have more reason than most Americans to want to defeat the Axis powers.
Today in Herstory: Police Raid Birth Control Clinic in NYC
April 15, 1929: The Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau’s clinic was raided this morning by New York City police, who arrested two doctors and three nurses, then seized massive amounts of “evidence,” including confidential patient records.
Today in Herstory: Robin Morgan Leads Sit-In Against Grove Press for Sexually Exploiting Women
April 13, 1970: Grove Press became the third media target of feminists in the past month as activists led by Robin Morgan staged a sit-in today to protest Grove’s sexual exploitation of women in its publications, as well as its union-busting policies.
Today in Herstory: Landmark Ruling Empowers Women to Take Action Against Abusive Husbands
April 10, 1882: An abused wife has a right to sue her husband, according to an opinion issued today by Justice John R. Brady of the New York State Supreme Court, writing for the majority.