Welcome to International Women’s Birthdays! From Adams & Addams to Zaharias and beyond: each day we celebrate the birthday of one woman whose aspirational & inspirational accomplishments merit recognition as much as any man born in January, February, or even December. DM to suggest a future honoree.
08:35 AM - Mar 01, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Fiamē Mataʻafa(1957-)!
The daughter of Samoa’s 1st Prime Minister now serves as its 7th (& 1st woman) after running multiple Ministries as the 1st woman Cabinet officer & successfully navigating a constitutional crisis when her predecessor tried to stay in office. #FiamēMataʻafa bio:
The daughter of Samoa’s 1st Prime Minister now serves as its 7th (& 1st woman) after running multiple Ministries as the 1st woman Cabinet officer & successfully navigating a constitutional crisis when her predecessor tried to stay in office. #FiamēMataʻafa bio:
04:52 PM - Apr 29, 2024
Happy Birthday, Marietta Blau(1894-1970)! Nominated for Nobels in both physics & chemistry, the Austrian physicist pioneered the use of nuclear emulsions to detect neutrons. She fled west in 1938, leading to a decade at Columbia & Brookhaven before she returned to CERN in 1960. #MariettaBlau bio:
11:56 AM - Apr 29, 2023
Happy Birthday, Odette Hallowes(1912-1995)!
The British SOE agent earned both the Légion d'honneur & UK’s George Cross - the 1st female honoree - for her undercover work in eastern France during WWII after surviving 2 yrs of horrific imprisonment & returning to write her story. #OdetteHallowes bio:
The British SOE agent earned both the Légion d'honneur & UK’s George Cross - the 1st female honoree - for her undercover work in eastern France during WWII after surviving 2 yrs of horrific imprisonment & returning to write her story. #OdetteHallowes bio:
09:07 PM - Apr 28, 2024
Happy Birthday, Na Hyeseok(1896-1948)! While cited as a cautionary tale after dying without children to care for her, the 1st female Korean to write feminist literature, paint professionally, & tour Europe/America argued for more practical outfits & rejected traditional female roles. #NaHyeseok bio:
01:00 PM - Apr 28, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Victoria Welby-Gregory(1837-1912)!
Queen Victoria’s goddaughter raised 3 kids & then educated herself into a philosophy career, focusing on “significs” in language, classifying 3 kinds of senses & 3 levels of consciousness, & writing the influential “What is Meaning?” #LadyWelby bio:
Queen Victoria’s goddaughter raised 3 kids & then educated herself into a philosophy career, focusing on “significs” in language, classifying 3 kinds of senses & 3 levels of consciousness, & writing the influential “What is Meaning?” #LadyWelby bio:
08:05 PM - Apr 27, 2024
Happy Birthday, Mumtaz Mahal(1593-1631)! Prior to dying in childbirth, she served 3 years as Chief Empress to Shah Jahan, whose gift of the imperial seal to his wife essentially meant that they co-ran the Mughal Empire. His grief resulted in the world’s most famous eponymous tomb. #TajMahal
12:33 PM - Apr 27, 2023
(Edited)
3 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Anita Loos(1888-1981)!
After supporting her family as a child actress, her scripts soon saw her to Hollywood, where she got hundreds made into films, wrote as the 1st female studio staff screenwriter, published Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, & adapted Gigi into a musical. #AnitaLoos bio:
After supporting her family as a child actress, her scripts soon saw her to Hollywood, where she got hundreds made into films, wrote as the 1st female studio staff screenwriter, published Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, & adapted Gigi into a musical. #AnitaLoos bio:
09:22 PM - Apr 26, 2024
Happy Birthday, Anne McLaren(1927-2007)! Spurred by research with her husband, the British scientist pioneered IVF studies in mice in the 1950s, spent decades studying fertility, development, & epigenetics, & co-founded the Frozen Ark project to preserve endangered species’ DNA. #AnneMcLaren bio:
11:56 AM - Apr 26, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Jean Purdy(1945-1985)!
The 1st embryologist tracked the cell division of the 1st IVF baby & should have shared the 2010 Nobel if not for her untimely death, as the British nurse co-authored 26 related papers, co-founded the Bourn Hall Clinic, & helped birth 370 kids. #JeanPurdy bio:
The 1st embryologist tracked the cell division of the 1st IVF baby & should have shared the 2010 Nobel if not for her untimely death, as the British nurse co-authored 26 related papers, co-founded the Bourn Hall Clinic, & helped birth 370 kids. #JeanPurdy bio:
08:22 PM - Apr 25, 2024
Happy Birthday, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska(1925-2015)! With few 20th century peers, the Polish paleobiologist led 8 trips to the Gobi, discovered dozens of new species (including Deinocheirus), & unearthed a rare fossilized battle between a Protoceratops & Velociraptor. #ZofiaKielanJaworowska
01:42 PM - Apr 25, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Salwa Bughaighis(1963-2014)!
The Libyan human rights lawyer & activist co-founded the post-Gaddafi National Transitional Council & fought for women in government, democratic norms, & less extreme Islamism, stances that sadly led to her assassination at age 51.
#SalwaBughaighis bio:
The Libyan human rights lawyer & activist co-founded the post-Gaddafi National Transitional Council & fought for women in government, democratic norms, & less extreme Islamism, stances that sadly led to her assassination at age 51.
#SalwaBughaighis bio:
08:16 PM - Apr 24, 2024
H is for Happy Birthday, Sue Grafton(1940-2017)! After spending 15 years writing screenplays, the eventual bestselling novelist penned 25 Kinsey Millhone “alphabet mysteries” before passing. Per her daughter, “as far as we in the family are concerned, the alphabet now ends at Y.” #SueGrafton
01:23 PM - Apr 24, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Sinah Estelle Kelly(1916-1982)!
The African-American chemist graduated Radcliffe just in time to work for 3 federal labs during WWII, notably contributed to USDA’s mass production of penicillin, & finally worked for the AEC to help stabilize strontium 90’s effects.
#SinahKelly bio:
The African-American chemist graduated Radcliffe just in time to work for 3 federal labs during WWII, notably contributed to USDA’s mass production of penicillin, & finally worked for the AEC to help stabilize strontium 90’s effects.
#SinahKelly bio:
07:05 PM - Apr 23, 2024
Happy Birthday, Annie Easley(1933-2011)! One of the 1st 4 African-American NASA employees, the computer engineer spent 34 yrs focused on power technology analysis, which helped support the Centaur rocket project to launch space shuttles, satellites, & the Cassini probe to Saturn. #AnnieEasley
02:14 PM - Apr 23, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Isabella I(1451-1504)!
Few women equaled the impact, both good & bad, of the 30-yr Queen of Castile & León, whose marriage to Ferdinand II led to Spanish unification & the Spanish empire, the Reconquista & Inquisition, and right in the middle, Columbus’ 1492 funding. #IsabellaI bio:
Few women equaled the impact, both good & bad, of the 30-yr Queen of Castile & León, whose marriage to Ferdinand II led to Spanish unification & the Spanish empire, the Reconquista & Inquisition, and right in the middle, Columbus’ 1492 funding. #IsabellaI bio:
05:57 PM - Apr 22, 2024
Happy Birthday, Rita Levi-Montalcini(1909-2012)! After setting up a home lab to study chicken embryo nerve fibers as an Italian Jew during WWII, the neurobiologist eventually shared the 1986 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering nerve growth factor (NGF). #RitaLeviMontalcini bio:
12:03 PM - Apr 22, 2023
Happy Birthday, Narges Mohammadi(1972-)!
The 2023 Peace Prize Laureate remains imprisoned in Iran, where the DHRC VP still campaigns against the death penalty, solitary confinement, & gov’t-endorsed aggression against women, including compulsory clothing, harassment, & assault. #NargesMohammadi bio:
The 2023 Peace Prize Laureate remains imprisoned in Iran, where the DHRC VP still campaigns against the death penalty, solitary confinement, & gov’t-endorsed aggression against women, including compulsory clothing, harassment, & assault. #NargesMohammadi bio:
01:53 PM - Apr 21, 2024
Happy Birthday, Gertrude S. Burlingham(1872-1952)! One of the 1st female Columbia PhDs, the mycologist spent decades teaching HS biology in NYC but summered in Vermont, where she pioneered the use of microscopic spore features & iodine staining for species identification. #GertrudeSBurlingham
12:41 PM - Apr 21, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Margaret Newton(1887-1971)!
The only 20th century woman RSC Flavelle Medal winner dedicated her life to plant pathology & mycology research, ID’ing stem rust-resistant species that led to producing 30 MILLION annual extra bushels of healthy wheat in Canada alone. #MargaretNewton bio:
The only 20th century woman RSC Flavelle Medal winner dedicated her life to plant pathology & mycology research, ID’ing stem rust-resistant species that led to producing 30 MILLION annual extra bushels of healthy wheat in Canada alone. #MargaretNewton bio:
06:03 PM - Apr 20, 2024
Happy Birthday, Caresse Crosby(1892-1970)! Time called the bohemian publisher the “literary godmother to the Lost Generation of expat writers in Paris.” She founded Women Against War after her 3rd divorce, years after patenting the modern bra at 22! How is her life not a TV show? #caressecrosby
12:05 PM - Apr 20, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Anna Lee Aldred(1921-2006)!
Raised by 2 horse trainers, the 1st licensed US woman jockey started racing after track officials couldn’t find a men-only rule, competing in state & county events for 6 years during WWII, followed by a post-war career as a trick rider.
#AnnaAldred bio:
Raised by 2 horse trainers, the 1st licensed US woman jockey started racing after track officials couldn’t find a men-only rule, competing in state & county events for 6 years during WWII, followed by a post-war career as a trick rider.
#AnnaAldred bio:
12:15 PM - Apr 19, 2024
Happy Birthday, Alice Salomon(1872-1948)! Despite a limited formal education until age 21, the eventual economics PhD helped pioneer social work as an academic focus, publishing over a dozen studies on the German poor before the Gestapo expelled her for helping Jewish emigrants. #AliceSalomon
12:38 PM - Apr 19, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Bertha Isaacs(1900-1997)!
After teaching for 10 yrs, she won a couple of US tennis titles before returning to Nassau, where she helped women win the right to vote in the Bahamas in 1962, served as the 2nd woman Senator, & earned the 1st DBE for any Bahamian woman. #BerthaIsaacs bio:
After teaching for 10 yrs, she won a couple of US tennis titles before returning to Nassau, where she helped women win the right to vote in the Bahamas in 1962, served as the 2nd woman Senator, & earned the 1st DBE for any Bahamian woman. #BerthaIsaacs bio:
07:01 PM - Apr 18, 2024
Happy Birthday, Jessie Street(1889-1970)! While serving as Australia’s 1st female delegate to the UN, the suffragette & campaigner for Aboriginal Australian rights successfully led the fight to include gender, with race and religion, in the UN Charter’s non-discrimination clause. #JessieStreet
12:35 PM - Apr 18, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Isabel Barrows(1845-1913)!
Widowed at 19 on a mission to India, she remarried, helped in his reform & political careers (including as the 1st woman to work for the State Department), & after studying in Vienna, began practicing as the 1st US woman ophthalmologist. #IsabelBarrows bio:
Widowed at 19 on a mission to India, she remarried, helped in his reform & political careers (including as the 1st woman to work for the State Department), & after studying in Vienna, began practicing as the 1st US woman ophthalmologist. #IsabelBarrows bio:
02:40 PM - Apr 17, 2024
Happy Birthday, Eliza Acton(1799-1859)! The poet authored one of the 1st domestic British cookbooks, with Modern Cookery introducing ingredient lists & suggested cooking times, plus the 1st English language recipes for Brussels sprouts, spaghetti, & “Christmas” (aka plum) pudding. #ElizaActon
12:17 PM - Apr 17, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Marie Maynard Daly(1921-2003)!
The 1st woman African-American Chemistry PhD made key biochemistry advances in histones, creatine, protein synthesis (cited in Watson’s Nobel speech), & discovering that cholesterol clogged arteries & hypertension led to atherosclerosis. #MarieDaly bio:
The 1st woman African-American Chemistry PhD made key biochemistry advances in histones, creatine, protein synthesis (cited in Watson’s Nobel speech), & discovering that cholesterol clogged arteries & hypertension led to atherosclerosis. #MarieDaly bio:
02:07 PM - Apr 16, 2024
Happy Birthday, Rose Talbot Bullard(1864-1915)! Among her many accomplishments, the trailblazing MD served on the AMA’s 1st Public Health Education Committee & rec’d that women exercise outdoors, noting “the bicycle has done more for…dress reform than any other single agent.” #RoseTalbotBullard
11:51 AM - Apr 16, 2023
Happy Birthday, Ida Freund(1863-1914)!
UK’s 1st female university chemistry teacher helped transform science instruction through more engagement & experimentation, supporting women in hard sciences, inventing a gas measuring tube, & creating periodic table cupcakes as a learning aid. #IdaFreund bio:
UK’s 1st female university chemistry teacher helped transform science instruction through more engagement & experimentation, supporting women in hard sciences, inventing a gas measuring tube, & creating periodic table cupcakes as a learning aid. #IdaFreund bio:
07:50 PM - Apr 15, 2024
Happy Birthday, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir(1930-)! As the 1st woman democratically elected President (in 1980), the Icelander’s 16 years in office make her the longest-serving elected female head of state. She spent the last 25 yrs as UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for languages. #VigdísFinnbogadóttir bio:
12:29 PM - Apr 15, 2023
