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, Deb Haaland(1960-)!
The US Interior Secretary worked past housing insecurity as a single mom to earn her role as the 1st Native American Cabinet Secretary, where her voice fills centuries-old gaps in the American conversation while she optimizes US land conservation. #DebHaaland bio:
The US Interior Secretary worked past housing insecurity as a single mom to earn her role as the 1st Native American Cabinet Secretary, where her voice fills centuries-old gaps in the American conversation while she optimizes US land conservation. #DebHaaland bio:
07:18 PM - Dec 02, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Anna Komnene(1083-1153)!
The highly educated Greek princess ran a hospital, taught medicine, & during her exile after reportedly failing to overthrow her younger brother, authored the Alexiad, the definitive reference for her Byzantine emperor father’s reign & era. #AnnaKomnene bio:
The highly educated Greek princess ran a hospital, taught medicine, & during her exile after reportedly failing to overthrow her younger brother, authored the Alexiad, the definitive reference for her Byzantine emperor father’s reign & era. #AnnaKomnene bio:
02:52 PM - Dec 01, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Shirley Chisholm(1924-2005)!
The “unbought & unbossed” 1st black woman US Rep served 7 terms, won 28 delegates as the 1st black major-party & 1st female Dem Presidential candidate in ’72, & always fought injustice with “sheer will & refusal to accept the status quo.”
#Shirley ! bio:
The “unbought & unbossed” 1st black woman US Rep served 7 terms, won 28 delegates as the 1st black major-party & 1st female Dem Presidential candidate in ’72, & always fought injustice with “sheer will & refusal to accept the status quo.”
#Shirley ! bio:
03:17 PM - Nov 30, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Empress Dowager Cixi(1835-1908)!
From concubine to de facto Chinese ruler for a half-century, the eminently contradictory authoritarian reformer either extended the Qing dynasty by decades or played Nero, perhaps the perfect yin & yang coda for the two-millennium monarchy. #Cixi bio:
From concubine to de facto Chinese ruler for a half-century, the eminently contradictory authoritarian reformer either extended the Qing dynasty by decades or played Nero, perhaps the perfect yin & yang coda for the two-millennium monarchy. #Cixi bio:
09:27 PM - Nov 29, 2023
Happy Birthday, Johanna Döbereiner(1924-2000)!
The German Czech emigrated to Brazil, where she began researching soil biology & soybean growth, successfully persuading many regions to avoid N-fertilizers & ensure that a lot of the world’s animal feed remains contaminant-free. #JohannaDöbereiner bio:
The German Czech emigrated to Brazil, where she began researching soil biology & soybean growth, successfully persuading many regions to avoid N-fertilizers & ensure that a lot of the world’s animal feed remains contaminant-free. #JohannaDöbereiner bio:
04:17 PM - Nov 28, 2023
Happy Birthday, Yulia Tymoshenko(1960-)!
The Orange Revolution icon & strong EU supporter served twice as the only female Ukrainian Prime Minister, nearly won the Presidency before Zelenskyy’s surprise rise, & remains an influential parliamentarian as Fatherland Party leader. #YuliaTymoshenko bio:
The Orange Revolution icon & strong EU supporter served twice as the only female Ukrainian Prime Minister, nearly won the Presidency before Zelenskyy’s surprise rise, & remains an influential parliamentarian as Fatherland Party leader. #YuliaTymoshenko bio:
04:21 PM - Nov 27, 2023
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Blackburn(1948-)!
Who wants to live forever?
Live long and prosper, even?
Then thank the 2009 Nobel winner for Physiology/Medicine, who led the team that discovered the enzyme telomerase, likely the key to cellular aging AND possibly curing cancer. #ElizabethBlackburn bio:
Who wants to live forever?
Live long and prosper, even?
Then thank the 2009 Nobel winner for Physiology/Medicine, who led the team that discovered the enzyme telomerase, likely the key to cellular aging AND possibly curing cancer. #ElizabethBlackburn bio:
10:04 PM - Nov 26, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Kate Gleason(1865-1933)!
The Rochester Gleason Works’ firstborn heiress never finished college, but her OTJ training earned her election as the 1st woman in ASME & literally paved the engineer’s path for her later success in construction, banking/VC, & philanthropy. #KateGleason bio:
The Rochester Gleason Works’ firstborn heiress never finished college, but her OTJ training earned her election as the 1st woman in ASME & literally paved the engineer’s path for her later success in construction, banking/VC, & philanthropy. #KateGleason bio:
09:41 PM - Nov 25, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Bessie Blount Griffin(1914-2009)!
Among the 1st noted African-American female inventors, her post-war physical therapy work led her to design the 1st electric device to assist amputees with meals. She later worked into her 80s as a forensic handwriting analyst. #BessieBGriffin bio:
Among the 1st noted African-American female inventors, her post-war physical therapy work led her to design the 1st electric device to assist amputees with meals. She later worked into her 80s as a forensic handwriting analyst. #BessieBGriffin bio:
11:45 PM - Nov 24, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Muriel Gardner(1901-1985)!
The heiress to “The Jungle’s” meatpackers graduated Wellesley, went to Vienna to study with Freud, & lived unremarkably post-WWII, yet for 5 yrs, “Mary” served as the only American to smuggle out messages & refugees from fascist Austria. #murielgardner bio:
The heiress to “The Jungle’s” meatpackers graduated Wellesley, went to Vienna to study with Freud, & lived unremarkably post-WWII, yet for 5 yrs, “Mary” served as the only American to smuggle out messages & refugees from fascist Austria. #murielgardner bio:
08:00 PM - Nov 23, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Abigail Adams(1744-1818)!
Wife & mom of Presidents, self-educated yet prolifically well-written, feminist, abolitionist, & America’s most compelling Adams (Sit down, John!), the 1st 2nd Lady & 2nd 1st Lady set a high bar for the most visible unpaid job in the US. #AbigailAdams bio:
Wife & mom of Presidents, self-educated yet prolifically well-written, feminist, abolitionist, & America’s most compelling Adams (Sit down, John!), the 1st 2nd Lady & 2nd 1st Lady set a high bar for the most visible unpaid job in the US. #AbigailAdams bio:
11:14 AM - Nov 22, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Hetty Green(1834-1916)!
Mocked for her Gilded Age frugality, the “Queen of Wall Street” bought low, sold high, spent little, lent reasonably, acted kindly, earned the only woman’s seat at the table during the Panic of 1907, & died as maybe the world’s richest woman. #HettyGreen bio:
Mocked for her Gilded Age frugality, the “Queen of Wall Street” bought low, sold high, spent little, lent reasonably, acted kindly, earned the only woman’s seat at the table during the Panic of 1907, & died as maybe the world’s richest woman. #HettyGreen bio:
07:06 PM - Nov 21, 2023
Happy Birthday, Jane C. Wright(1919-2013)!
As possibly the 1st 3rd-generation African-American MD, she began a lifetime of researching accessible chemo drugs working with her dad before appointment to run the Cancer Research Foundation at 33 & later joined many nat’l cancer boards. #JaneCWright bio:
As possibly the 1st 3rd-generation African-American MD, she began a lifetime of researching accessible chemo drugs working with her dad before appointment to run the Cancer Research Foundation at 33 & later joined many nat’l cancer boards. #JaneCWright bio:
08:52 PM - Nov 20, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Indira Gandhi(1917-1984)!
India’s sole female Prime Minister, iconically influential & impactful for decades, left an incredibly complicated legacy, from nationalist empowerment & nuclear development to authoritarianism, nepotism, & assassination by her bodyguards. #IndiraGandhi bio:
India’s sole female Prime Minister, iconically influential & impactful for decades, left an incredibly complicated legacy, from nationalist empowerment & nuclear development to authoritarianism, nepotism, & assassination by her bodyguards. #IndiraGandhi bio:
07:56 PM - Nov 19, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Frances McGill(1882-1959)!
“The Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan” gained int’l renown for her forensic pathology skills, rising from provincial bacteriologist to private-practice allergy specialist, RCMP forensics lab director, & one of the 1st female Mounties. #FrancesMcGill bio:
“The Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan” gained int’l renown for her forensic pathology skills, rising from provincial bacteriologist to private-practice allergy specialist, RCMP forensics lab director, & one of the 1st female Mounties. #FrancesMcGill bio:
09:55 PM - Nov 18, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Grace Abbott(1878-1939)!
The 1st US female Cabinet nominee crusaded for immigrant & children’s rights, administered (& then sustained parts of) the Keating-Owen Act to limit child labor, helped draft the SSA, & started using sociological data to support legislation. #GraceAbbott bio:
The 1st US female Cabinet nominee crusaded for immigrant & children’s rights, administered (& then sustained parts of) the Keating-Owen Act to limit child labor, helped draft the SSA, & started using sociological data to support legislation. #GraceAbbott bio:
07:36 PM - Nov 17, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Barbara & Beverly Smith(1946-)!
The Black lesbian twins’ combined 100+ yrs as drivers of the Black feminist movement include authoring 2/3 of the 1977 CRC Statement that coined “identity politics” & 1st noted the intersectionality of racism, sexism, & homophobia. #BarbNBevSmith bios:
The Black lesbian twins’ combined 100+ yrs as drivers of the Black feminist movement include authoring 2/3 of the 1977 CRC Statement that coined “identity politics” & 1st noted the intersectionality of racism, sexism, & homophobia. #BarbNBevSmith bios:
06:25 PM - Nov 16, 2023
(Edited)
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Cornelia Sorabji(1866-1954)!
India’s 1st female barrister earned credentials to advocate for purdahnishans secluded from men (and thus lawyers), but her anti-nationalism sabotaged her efforts to prioritize educating women as a pre-req for successful self-rule. #CorneliaSorabji bio:
India’s 1st female barrister earned credentials to advocate for purdahnishans secluded from men (and thus lawyers), but her anti-nationalism sabotaged her efforts to prioritize educating women as a pre-req for successful self-rule. #CorneliaSorabji bio:
11:59 PM - Nov 15, 2023
Happy Birthday, Mary Greyeyes(1920-2011)!
The 1st First Nations woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces served 4 yrs during WWII & gained infamy from an “Indian princess” publicity photo but fought attempted follow-ups when Canada tried to trade voting rights for treaty givebacks. #MaryGreyeyes bio:
The 1st First Nations woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces served 4 yrs during WWII & gained infamy from an “Indian princess” publicity photo but fought attempted follow-ups when Canada tried to trade voting rights for treaty givebacks. #MaryGreyeyes bio:
07:14 PM - Nov 14, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Dorothea Erxleben(1715-1762)!
The 1st German woman MD (& last for ~150 yrs) raised 9 kids while studying, started practicing to pay debts, & when charged with quackery, King Frederick let her take exams & finish her dissertation (on overprescribing opiates!). #DorotheaErxleben bio:
The 1st German woman MD (& last for ~150 yrs) raised 9 kids while studying, started practicing to pay debts, & when charged with quackery, King Frederick let her take exams & finish her dissertation (on overprescribing opiates!). #DorotheaErxleben bio:
04:36 PM - Nov 13, 2023
Happy Birthday, Juana Inés de la Cruz(1648-1695)!
“The Phoenix of America” ranks as the key American-born woman of the Spanish Golden Age - a Baroque composer, poet, nun, & writer whose proto-feminist & indigenous-inclusive body of work places her at the foundation of Mexican culture. #SorJuana bio:
“The Phoenix of America” ranks as the key American-born woman of the Spanish Golden Age - a Baroque composer, poet, nun, & writer whose proto-feminist & indigenous-inclusive body of work places her at the foundation of Mexican culture. #SorJuana bio:
11:49 PM - Nov 12, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Alice Huyler Ramsey(1886-1983)!
The sole driver of the 1st real girls’ trip drove a friend & 2 sisters-in-law 3800mi in 59d from NYC to SF in 1909, completing the 1st coast-to-coast drive of any woman, earning her AAA’s “Woman Motorist of the Century” 50 yrs later. #AliceRamsey bio:
The sole driver of the 1st real girls’ trip drove a friend & 2 sisters-in-law 3800mi in 59d from NYC to SF in 1909, completing the 1st coast-to-coast drive of any woman, earning her AAA’s “Woman Motorist of the Century” 50 yrs later. #AliceRamsey bio:
10:53 PM - Nov 11, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu(1887-1973)!
The Berlin-educated Romanian earned one of the 1st engineering degrees awarded any woman, ran a WWI hospital, & after rejoining Romania’s Geological Institute, taught, led geology labs, & helped locate new natural resources. #ElisaZamfirescu bio:
The Berlin-educated Romanian earned one of the 1st engineering degrees awarded any woman, ran a WWI hospital, & after rejoining Romania’s Geological Institute, taught, led geology labs, & helped locate new natural resources. #ElisaZamfirescu bio:
09:15 PM - Nov 10, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Florence R Sabin(1871-1953)! The 1st female full professor at a medical college (at Johns Hopkins!), NAS electee, & Rockefeller Institute dept head began a public health career in “retirement” & earned the 1951 Lasker Award for her half-century of contributions. #FlorenceSabin bio:
11:33 PM - Nov 09, 2023
Happy Birthday, Dorothea Bate(1878-1951)!
Employed at London’s Natural History Museum at 19, possibly as the 1st female museum scientist, she spent 50 yrs searching for fossils to ID as one of the 1st archaeozoologists, focusing on the recently extinct to explain giants & dwarfs. #DorotheaBate bio:
Employed at London’s Natural History Museum at 19, possibly as the 1st female museum scientist, she spent 50 yrs searching for fossils to ID as one of the 1st archaeozoologists, focusing on the recently extinct to explain giants & dwarfs. #DorotheaBate bio:
08:45 PM - Nov 08, 2023
Happy Birthday, Marie Curie(1867-1934)!
300K characters wouldn’t cover all the triumphs of the 1st female Nobel laureate, 1st double laureate, the only 2-field laureate, & the spouse & mother of laureates. The Polish-French chemist & physicist both named radioactivity & died of it. #MarieCurie bio:
300K characters wouldn’t cover all the triumphs of the 1st female Nobel laureate, 1st double laureate, the only 2-field laureate, & the spouse & mother of laureates. The Polish-French chemist & physicist both named radioactivity & died of it. #MarieCurie bio:
08:28 PM - Nov 07, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Else Ackermann(1933-2019)!
The East German MD, pharmacologist, & cancer researcher authored the “Neuenhagen letter” to argue for reforming the citizen-state relationship early in her political career, which helped prime the path for reunification two years later. #ElseAckermann bio:
The East German MD, pharmacologist, & cancer researcher authored the “Neuenhagen letter” to argue for reforming the citizen-state relationship early in her political career, which helped prime the path for reunification two years later. #ElseAckermann bio:
10:25 PM - Nov 06, 2023
Happy Birthday, Anna Leonowens(1831-1915)!
While The King & I immortalized her 6 yrs in Siam from her already embellished memoir, her renown appears anything but a puzzlement: the Indian-born English feminist writer traveled the world, lectured, taught, & even co-founded NSCAD.
#AnnaLeonowens bio:
While The King & I immortalized her 6 yrs in Siam from her already embellished memoir, her renown appears anything but a puzzlement: the Indian-born English feminist writer traveled the world, lectured, taught, & even co-founded NSCAD.
#AnnaLeonowens bio:
11:47 PM - Nov 05, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Mary Sherman Morgan(1921-2004)!
She persevered past family efforts to keep her farmbound to lead the Hydrene team that boosted the 1st US satellite into orbit as the ONLY woman of 900 NAA engineers - but couldn’t get the Army to call her fuel Bagel (to mix with LOX). #MaryMorgan bio:
She persevered past family efforts to keep her farmbound to lead the Hydrene team that boosted the 1st US satellite into orbit as the ONLY woman of 900 NAA engineers - but couldn’t get the Army to call her fuel Bagel (to mix with LOX). #MaryMorgan bio:
08:47 PM - Nov 04, 2023
2 Threaded Spouts
Happy Birthday, Oodgeroo Noonuccal(1920-1993)!
Australia’s 1st published Aboriginal poet served in WWII’s AWAS, defended her work’s substance AND authorship, helped pass full constitutional Aboriginal citizenship in 1967, & even wrote poems during 3 days on a hijacked flight. #OodgerooNoonuccal bio:
Australia’s 1st published Aboriginal poet served in WWII’s AWAS, defended her work’s substance AND authorship, helped pass full constitutional Aboriginal citizenship in 1967, & even wrote poems during 3 days on a hijacked flight. #OodgerooNoonuccal bio:
08:57 PM - Nov 03, 2023
