Wowed by Women!

Rihanna. Miley. Lady Gaga. While today’s pop stars are all the rage, history is full of influential women who deserve to be center-stage. March is Women’s History Month…check out these fun facts.

Science and math and computers, oh my! Nobel Prize-winning scientist Gertrude Belle Elion (1918–1999) co-developed two drugs to treat leukemia. Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992) is considered one of the mothers of computer languages and was also one of the first women to become a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.

Painting Outside the Lines. Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) was the only American artist invited by the French Impressionists to exhibit her paintings and pastels of women, mothers and children. American artist Georgia O’Keefe (1887–1986) created over 2000 works of art depicting flowers, shells and other natural objects.

Saving Planet Earth. Scientist Susan Solomon (1956–) helped identify the causes of the hole in the ozone layer. Kenyan Wangari Maathai (1940–) is the first woman and first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her “Green Belt Movement” launched a world-wide tree planning campaign.

Shoot for the Moon! American pilot Jacqueline Cochran (1906–1980) was the first woman to break the sound barrier. Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937–) became the first women in space in 1963. American astronaut and astrophysicist Sally Ride (1951–) followed in 1983.

Hello, Madam President. In 1960 Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the first woman elected to lead a country.

Before There Was Dora. Primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall’s (1934–) ground-breaking studies of chimpanzees and her youth-centered Roots and Shoots program have helped make the world more aware of the plight of endangered species.

Justine Ickes, a freelance writer, makes sure her two boys get their daily dose of inspirational facts
about women.