Peggy Barber is creating all your library nostalgia
Librarian and marketer Peggy Barber died last August at age 75. Few outside the library world know her name, but almost EVERYONE in America knows the...
We keep the history of women alive
Happy New Year! A few words from suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902): The greatest block to advancing civilization all along the line has been the...
Irene Morales is fighting for her country
I was reading about New Year’s Eve traditions around the world, and then I got to Chile: New Year’s Eve is celebrated in Chile by the observation of...
Lucía Sánchez Saornil is writing poems and taking names
The place! Spain. The time! 1931. Telephone operator Lucía Sánchez Saornil (pronounced according to here like “sour-NEIL”) goes on strike against the...
Eliza McCardle is marrying all your impeached presidents
Well. She married one of them. Eliza McCardle was married to impeached-due-to-being-a-major-tool Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States....
Hoelun is saving all your families in the Mongolian wilderness
I'm reading a book called Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford, and despite never having had a real interest in Genghis Khan...
Bloody Mary is not who you think she is (probably)
If you were ever a 12-year-old girl, you probably spent some time at a sleepover standing in front of a bathroom mirror, either saying "Bloody Mary" three...
Mary Blair is animating all your children's classics
I've been reading The Queens of Animation for the nonfiction books podcast I co-host and I have been consistently ASTOUNDED throughout it, particularly by...
Viola Desmond is not getting up
Let's talk about Viola Desmond. Looking up "most famous woman in Canada" yields few and scattered results. Looking up "famous woman in Canada," however,...
Anacaona is here for Indigenous People's Day
My excellent friend Kathleen asked if I was going to talk about anyone for Not Columbus Day, and I went "!!! that is an excellent idea." I looked up women...
National Coming Out Day
The history of LGBTQ+ people in America focuses on white gay men. For this women's history newsletter, let's look at some queer women's history. The...
Hypatia of Alexandria is building all your astrolabes
Hypatia of Alexandria! “Oh no” you say to yourself. “Not the story of Hypatia.” AND I GET IT. So sad. Such a very very very sad story (I hope those of you...
Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer is rediscovering all your prehistoric fish
You know what everyone thought was extinct! The coelacanth! You know what isn't! That! The coelacanth (see-luh-kanth) is a big fish everyone thought died out...
Lillian Bullshows Hogan has stories to tell
For Friday's women's history newsletter, I want to quote from this University of Nebraska interview with Barbara Loeb, who co-wrote The Woman Who Loved...
Mabel Ping-Hua Lee is impressing the hell out of everyone
THE YEAR IS 1912. You are a Chinese American woman astride a horse in the New York women's suffrage parade. Later everyone talks about Inez Milholland on her...
Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin is taking the photo she wants
Last month, I went to the National Archives. So neat! But also NO PHOTOS ALLOWED. This was an especial bummer as they had a women’s suffrage exhibit with a...
Jane Austen was POISONED (...maybe)
Today, July 18th, is the anniversary of famed British author Jane Austen's death at the age of 41. If you search "jane austen death" then you'll get a bunch...
When the women before us got the vote
June 4, 2019 marks the 100 year anniversary of Congress passing the 19th Amendment, spelling out in our Constitution that “[t]he right of citizens of the...
The six wives of Henry VIII want you to know some things
In honor of seeing the musical SIX and because my piece for Vulture about Catherine of Aragon came out today, here are some quick facts about the...
Lek Chailert is saving elephants
I'm in France this week, so last week I of course googled "woman elephant" and immediately found an amazing woman from Thailand who is saving elephants. Lek...