Wilma Rudolph overcame childhood polio & years in a leg brace to become the fastest woman runner in the world! #inspiration The first American woman, as well as the first Black woman, to win 3 gold medals in a single Olympiad, Rome 1960. 🥇🥇🥇 She died #OTD in 1994.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the primary architect and driving force behind the organized movement that ultimately won American women the right to vote in 1920. She was born #OTD in 1815 & never got to vote in her lifetime. Because of her (and others), you can. #VOTE #womensrights #womenssuffrage

Baroness Orczy died #OTD in 1947. Best known for her series of novels featuring The Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of Sir Percy Blakeney--establishing the "hero with a secret identity" in popular culture (a precursor to Zorro, Batman, and more). 📚🖋️

Louise Thaden | 🛩️American aviation pioneer born #OTD in 1905 + First female pilot to be licensed by Ohio, 1928 + First to hold the women's altitude, endurance & speed records in light planes simultaneously, 1929 + Winner, first Women's Air Derby, 1929 www.ninety-nines.org/Bio-Louise_M...

Mildred Dresselhaus | Renowned physicist known as the "Queen of Carbon." Key figure in nanotechnology. First woman Institute Professor at MIT, and champion for #WomenInSTEM. Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2014. She was born #OTD in 1930. physics.mit.edu/faculty/mild...

Lucretia Mott | Abolitionist, #womensrights activist, social reformer & mentor to Elizabeth Cady Stanton died #OTD in 1880. "When Mott died in 1880, she was widely judged by her contemporaries...as the greatest American woman of the 19th century." www.womenshistory.org/education-re...

#OTD in 1993, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial: Honoring The 265,000 Forgotten Women Who Served (most of whom were nurses) was dedicated. It is the first memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring women's military service. #VeteransDay nps.gov/thingstodo/v...

LaVern Baker | Her fiery fusion of R&B, blues & jazz showcased her alluring vocals & set the stage for the rock-n-roll surge of the 50s. She was born #OTD in 1929. In 1991, she became the 2nd female solo artist inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. rockhall.com/inductees/la...

#OTD in 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Walker with the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the US armed forces. A volunteer surgeon for the Union Army, she is the first & (to date) only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. #CivilWar #VeteransDay

Tu Youyou | Pharmaceutical chemist & malariologist whose malaria therapy saved millions of lives. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015 "for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria." #WomenInSTEM #WorldScienceDay nobelprize.org/womenwhochan...

5 pioneering scientists/researchers honored with the UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards (their 5 mini bios below) www.unesco.org/en/articles/... #WomenInSTEM #WorldScienceDay

Dorothy Vaughan | NASA mathematician, programmer & manager died #OTD in 2008 First Black female supervisor at NACA (precursor to NASA), expert programmer, Scout Launch Vehicle Program contributor & more. #WomenInSTEM Learn more about this "Hidden Figure:" nasa.gov/people/dorot...

Today is #WorldScienceDay for Peace & Development. Highlighting the role of science in society, the need to engage the public in debates on emerging science & the importance & relevance of science in our daily lives. #WomenInSTEM posts all day! 🥳 www.un.org/en/observanc...

Dr. Florence Sabin | Immunologist and educator, born #OTD in 1871. The first woman to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (where she graduated from in 1900) and the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences. #WomenInSTEM

Remembering Miriam Makeba | "Mama Africa," the South African singer whose voice stirred hopes of freedom among millions in her country with music that was banned by the apartheid authorities she struggled against. She died #OTD in 2008 at the age of 76. nytimes.com/2008/11/11/w...

Hedy Lamarr was born #OTD in 1914. In the 1940s, in an attempt to help the war effort, she quietly invented what would become the precursor to many wireless technologies we use today including Bluetooth, GPS, cellphone networks & more: frequency hopping. #WomenInSTEM npr.org/2011/11/27/1...

Alice Coachman Davis | Athlete, born #OTD in 1923 In the 1948 London #Olympics, she became the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal. She won gold in the high jump setting an Olympic record (5 feet, 6 1/8 inches); the only American woman to win a gold medal in track & field in the 1948 Games.

Mary Ann Bickerdyke | Nurse, lawyer, and lifelong advocate for #veterans She worked tirelessly to improve conditions for wounded soldiers during the #CivilWar, responsible for establishing 300 field hospitals during the war. She died #OTD in 1901. civilwarmed.org/mother-bicke...

Marie Curie | Physicist and chemist, was born #OTD in 1867 First woman to win a Nobel Prize, first person & only woman to win twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences: Physics in 1903 & Chemistry in 1911. #WomenInSTEM smithsonianmag.com/history/mada...

#OTD in 1962, the indomitable Eleanor Roosevelt died. + First Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women + First US Representative to the UN Commission on Human Rights + First Chair of the UN Commission on #HumanRights #inspirational

#OTD in 1990, Mary Robinson was elected President of Ireland. She was Ireland's first woman president. She served from 1990 until September 1997 when she began her post as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

#OTD in 1939, Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" was first published. It is Christie's best-selling novel, with >100 million copies sold; it is also the world's best-selling mystery and one of the best-selling books of all time.

Dilfuza Egamberdieva | Uzbek microbiologist 2023 recipient, UNESCO-Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology. Her work focuses on developing microbial solutions to enhance soil & plant health in challenging environmental conditions. #WomenInSTEM unesco.org/en/articles/...

Congratulations to Mikie Sherrill! 🥂 Sherrill won the gubernatorial election in New Jersey today and will serve as New Jersey's second female governor.

Join me live as I deliver remarks tonight from Richmond: www.youtube.com/live/Tp_iema...

Congratulations to Ghazala Hashmi! 🥳 Hashmi won the lieutenant gubernatorial election in Virginia today & will serve as VA's second female lieutenant governor. She is the first Muslim woman to be elected to a statewide office in US history.

Congratulations to Abigail Spanberger! 🥂 Spanberger won the gubernatorial election in Virginia today and will serve as Virginia's first female governor.

Dr. Patricia Bath overcame sexism, racism, and poverty and saved the sight of millions of people. In 1986, she invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment. It was patented in 1988. She was born #OTD in 1942. #WomenInSTEM cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/b...

Loïs Mailou Jones | In a career spanning more than 70 years, Jones overcame racial and gender prejudices to become a successful and influential painter, designer, and educator. She was born #OTD in 1905. nmwa.org/explore/arti...

Remembering Marie Colvin on this International Day to #EndImpunity for Crimes Against Journalists A fearless journalist murdered in Syria in 2012, she devoted her life to the proposition that the truth of history demands witnesses. #TruthNeverDies theguardian.com/media/2012/f...

Pearl Buck | American writer & novelist * Her novel, The Good Earth, won the Pulitzer Prize for #Fiction, 1932 * First American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1938 * Prominent advocate of the rights of women & minorities 📚 #NationalAuthorsDay

#OTD in 1937, Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" was first published. Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time--her works have sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation.

#OTD in 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her bodyguards. Gandhi was India's third prime minister--she was the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of India.

#OTD in 1811, Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was first published. Published anonymously, the British public knew only that the popular book had been written “by a Lady.”

Laura Bassi | Italian physicist and academic born #OTD in 1711 She defended her PhD thesis in 1732 (age 21), the second woman in the world to earn a doctorate, and was the first salaried female teacher in a university. One of the first #WomenInSTEM.

Frances Hodgson Burnett | British novelist & playwright. She died #OTD in 1924. Best known for 3 children's books: Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911). The Secret Garden's hidden depths: theguardian.com/books/2011/a...

Abigail Adams | Wife & close advisor of U.S. President John Adams died #OTD in 1818. An advocate of #womensrights & more opportunities for women, particularly in education. womenshistory.org/education-re...

Congrats to Catherine Connolly! 🥂 Connolly secured 63% of the vote and will be inaugurated as the 10th President of Ireland in November.

Mahalia Jackson, the "Queen of Gospel," was born #OTD in 1911. Jackson is revered as one of the greatest musical figures in U.S. history. biography.com/musicians/ma...

Anne Tyler | Novelist, short story writer & literary critic, born #OTD in 1941 Tyler published 24 novels, including The Accidental Tourist, 1985. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1989 for her novel, Breathing Lessons. annetyler.com

Lida "Eliza" Pollock | Archer & the oldest woman to ever win Olympic gold, born #OTD in 1840. She won 2 bronze medals in Archery at the 1904 Summer Olympics and a gold medal with the US team. She was aged 63 years & 333 days when she won gold.

It's World #ChampagneDay! #DYK Madame Clicquot Ponsardin invented the riddling process for Champagne that rids it of dead yeast after the fermentation process. What a story: The Widow Who Created the Champagne Industry smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...

Nadia Boulanger | Composer & Conductor The first woman to conduct major orchestras in America & Europe, including the Boston Symphony, Hallé, NY Philharmonic & Philadelphia orchestras. She died #OTD in 1979. The greatest music teacher who ever lived: bbc.in/2pe0S7g

Doris Lessing | British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer & short story writer, born #OTD in 1919. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007--the 11th woman & oldest person to win the award, at age 88. dorislessing.org

Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard | German developmental biologist born #OTD in 1942 Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995--she is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences. #WomenInSTEM nobelprize.org/womenwhochan...

Edna St. Vincent Millay | Poet One of the most respected American poets of the 20th century. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923. Died #OTD in 1950. poets.org/poet/edna-st...

Lucy Stone | Suffragist & abolitionist, died #OTD in 1893 She spoke out for women's rights & against slavery when women were discouraged & prevented from public speaking. First Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree. womenshistory.org/education-re...

#OTD in 2019, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made #space history as they completed the first-ever spacewalk by an all-woman team. #WomenInSTEM www.nasa.gov/blogs/spaces... #AstronautEnvy 🚀

Happy Birthday Mae Jemison!🎈 An engineer, physician & NASA astronaut, she was the first Black woman to travel in space (1992). She left NASA in 1993 & founded a technology research company. She later founded the non-profit Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence. #WomenInSTEM

#OTD in 1847, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was first published. It was published under the pen name "Currer Bell" and is one of the most remarkable coming-of-age books ever written on the conflict between love and independence.