Happy 95th birthday to the 19th Amendment! Here are 19 awesome things women have done since
Today is a very special birthday: It’s the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, AKA, that thing that gives women in America the right to vote. While it’s still kind of depressing that less than a hundred years ago women were voting for the first time, this has allowed them to do a lot of other “firsts” since. In celebration of this momentous occasion, here are 19 of those awesome first moments for women around the world!
1926: Gertrude Ederle swims across the English channel. She’s the first woman to ever accomplish such a feat!
1932: This is the year Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic. She’s the first woman to complete this 15 hour journey!
1867-1934: Marie Curie becomes the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (in two different areas!) as well as discovers radium and polonium. NBD.
1946: Muriel Box is the first woman to win an academy award for “Best Original Screenplay” for The Seventh Veil
1966: Indira Gandhi becomes the first female prime minister of the Republic of India.
1967: Althea Gibson wins the singles title at Wimbledon as the first African-American woman!
1967-onward: Jin Xing, a Chinese transgender dancer, overcomes her identity crisis to become the first successful Chinese transgender ballerina, modern dancer, actress, choreographer and owner of her own dance company, “Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theatre.”
1880 – 1968: Hellen Keller goes on to become the first deaf and blind bestselling author and activist for those with disabilities.
1981: Sandra Day O’Connor is appointed to the Supreme Court as its first woman justice.
1984: Lydia Canaan becomes the first Middle-Eastern rock star.
1985: Wilma Mankiller is appointed the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
1987: Aretha Franklin is the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1990: Dr. Antonia Novello becomes the first hispanic female U.S. Surgeon General.
1906–1992: Grace Hopper invents one of the first user-friendly computer languages. You can pretty much thank her for being able to read this article right now!
1993: Toni Morrison wins the Nobel Prize for literature as the first African-American woman.
2004: Phylicia Rashad is the first African-American woman to win a Tony for Best Lead Actress in a Play.
2008: Michelle Obama becomes the first African-American FLOTUS.
2014: Malala Yousafzai receives the Nobel Peace Prize at seventeen years old–the youngest recipient ever.
2015: Laverne Cox was the first openly transgender woman to pose nude for Allure‘s annual “Nudes” issue.
Of course, it’s almost impossible to narrow down the accomplishments to only 19 things. What are some of your favorite historical moments for women? Give a shout-out to a badass lady today!
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