March 8th commemorates women’s rights and peace.
International Women’s Day was commemorated in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s, but then dwindled. It was revived during the women’s movement in the 1960s, and the United Nations began sponsoring International Women’s Day in 1975.
OUTSTANDING WOMEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Patsy Takemoto Mink, of Hawaii, is the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 24 years. 1965
Sandra Day O’Connor is appointed by President Reagan to the Supreme Court, making her its first woman justice. 1981
Dr. Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman to be sent into space. 1983
Dr. Antonia Novello is sworn in as U.S. Surgeon General, becoming the first woman (and first Hispanic) to hold that job. 1990
Carol Moseley-Braun, of Illinois, becomes the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. 1992
Mae Jemison becomes the first black female astronaut. 1992
Sheila Widnall becomes the first secretary of a branch of the U.S. military when she is appointed to head the Air Force. 1993
Madeleine Albright is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State. She is the first woman in this position as well as the highest-ranking woman in the United States Government. 1997
Lt. Col. Eileen Collins is the first woman astronaut to command a space shuttle mission. 1999
Condoleezza Rice becomes the first African-American female Secretary of State. 2005
