February 13th

On this day in 1969 Mary Hopkin's first album Postcard was released by Apple Records, Paul McCartney producer. Hopkin's is most famous for her song, Those Were The Days Hopkin has continued her career and most recently in 2010,with collaborations with her children. With daughter Jessica Lee Morgan, the release of her first CD called,I Am not. And in October 2010 with her son Morgan Visconti the release of, You Look Familiar.

Born this day in 1894, Mary Lucinda Cardwell Dawson, founder of the, The National Negro Opera Company, in 1941. Dawson used her home for the residence of her company. 7101 Apple Street, Pittsburgh, PA. The company produced Faust, La Traviata, and Clarence,Cameron White's Ouanga. Robert Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Moses and many more. The company had many chapters throughout the United States, but with Dawson's death in 1962, the National Negro Opera Company closed.

On this day in 1943, the Women's Marie Corps was founded. www.militarywoman.org

On this day in 1907, the British Suffragettes stormed Parliament,and 60 women were arrested.

Cathrine Howard was beheaded this day in 1542, one of King Henry VIII wives

February 12th

Born this day in 1831, Myra Colby Bradwell. Bradwell fought for the rights of women to be practicing lawyers in the United States. All the way to the Supreme Court.

On August 2, 1869 Myra Bradwell passed the Illinois bar exam. After being denied admission to the Illinois Bar, she filed suit, reaching the United States Supreme Court, claiming that refusing to admit her to the bar because she was female violated her 14th Amendment rights. The Supreme Court held that the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not include the right to practice a profession. Justice Joseph Bradley wrote: “The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life...[T]he paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator." Bradwell v. Illinois, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 130 (1873).

And then in 1872, the state of Illinois “No person shall be precluded or debarred from any occupation, profession, or employment (except the military) on account of gender." Bradwell was a practicing lawyer for two years before her death.
It must be noted, women in the United States are not protected under the Constitution.

February 11th

Born this day in 1802, Lydia Maria Child, a woman whose understanding of the human experience beyond of her times. Child wrote An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans in 1833. An abolitionist, suffragist, Indian rights activist, a teacher, a novelist,a journalist. A woman who believed in freedom for all people. She used her talents as a writer to startle and challenge her readers with her complete honestly on the subject of human rights and her views on white male supremacy. Using these subjects in her writing, Child was well read between 1820-1850's. Child also the editor and writer the first ever magazine for children, Juvenile Miscellany She also wrote household how to books and children's books. Today we most remember Child for a poem, Over the river and through the woods to grandma's house we go..." Truly an amazing woman.

On this day in 1975, Margret Thatcher became the first woman to be voted in British Conservative Party and so becoming the first woman Prime Minister of United Kingdom.

On this day in 1858,Bernadette Soubiros saw a vision in Lourdes.

February 10th

On this day in 1675, Mary Rowlandson and her three children were captured by the Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians in Lancaster, Massachusetts during King Philip's War and held hostage for 11 weeks. Rowlandson wrote about this tragic experience and it is considered the first "captivity narrative" written. The title,The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson

On this day in 1840 Queen Victoria married her Prince Albert. A true love match in a time of arranged marriages.

On this day in 1870, the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) was founded in New York City.

February 9th

Born this day in 1944, Alice Walker, critically acclaimed" Poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, anthologist, teacher, editor, publisher, womanist and activist."
She graduated from high school 1961, class valedictorian. She was also crowned homecoming queen. After high school, Walker first attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia and it was there she worked with the civil rights movement. In 1964,Walker continued her education at Sarah Lawrence and it was there Alice Walker committed her talents to being a writer.
In 1965, Walker accepted a position with The New York Welfare Department. A year later with a grant of 2,000 dollars she moved to Jackson Mississippi to work with the Legal Defense Fund of NAACP. Taking deposition of blacks who had been evicted from their home for registering to vote. Walker published her first novel in 1967, titled "To Hell With Dying". But the book that turned Walker into an international name was her novel, "The Color Purple" which she also was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Walker continues to write and impact our society and raise our awareness with work that deals with women's issues.
On International Woman's Day, March 8, 2003, the eve of the Iraq War, Alice Walker joined the anti-war protest and was arrested for crossing the police line with 24 other women. This her comment about why she joined hands.
I was with other women who believe that the women and children of Iraq are just as dear as the women and children in our families, and that, in fact, we are one family. And so it would have felt to me that we were going over to actually bomb ourselves."
Alice is active today in Code Pink She is dedicated to making the world a better place and to raise awareness of the injustice going today, just a moment ago, and now. To learn more about this amazing artist/activist: www.alicewalkersgarden.com


Born this day in 1814, Lydia Pinkham, a woman who suffered "female troubles" that turned into a multi-million dollar business still active today. A very painful menstrual cycle and knowledge about roots and herbs,and with 18% alcohol, Pinkham brewed up a concoction in her kitchen that relieved her suffering. She shared her "Herbal Formula" with any woman in need. But the Panic of 1873, ruined Pinkham's husband and lost all his money. Out of need of an income, she began to charge for her Herbal Formula. In 1876, she patented her recipe as "Mrs Lydia E Pinkham's Vegetable Compound." To advertise her formula Pinkham wrote pamplets and handed them out of the streets. They read,"All those painful complaints and weaknesses so common to our best female population, including everything from flatulence to all ovarian troubles. She also advertized in the women's magazines! Both written in English,French, and Spanish. At a time, when the medical profession(male physicians) lacked understanding of women's health and needs. And did not want to discuss it in mixed company... Lydia Pinkham invited her clients to write to her about their "women's ailments" and ask questions. And those questions were answered. Answers that wrote honestly about women's health. Ground braking! At her death the company was grossing 300,000. per year. The mostly male dominated medical field called Pinkham in her lifetime, "snake-oil-peddler." But, as Mrs. Pinkham said,"Only woman can understand woman's ills."