March is Women’s History Month, and it is celebrated yearly. It was first observed in the United States in 1987, and the purpose is to celebrate and recognize the contributions to history and society by women. To recognize some of the achievements by women in the past, we’ve written about a small number of women, past and present, that paved the way for where we are today.

Marie Curie

(November 7, 1867 - July 4, 1934)

Was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes and the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Chemistry and Physics)
Was the first female professor at Sorbonne University
Discovered polonium and radium
Helped find treatments for cancer
Developed a portable x-ray machine for soldiers in World War I

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

(March 15, 1933 - September 18, 2020)

Was an advocate for gender equality and women’s rights
Was the second woman and first Jewish female justice on the Supreme Court
Was nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1993
She graduated from Columbia Law School as first in her class
Co-founded the Women’s Rights Project
Was the first justice to officiate same-sex marriages

Amelia Earhart

(July 24, 1897 - declared dead on January 5, 1939)

Was the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic Ocean in 1932 and only the second person to do so
First woman to fly nonstop coast-to-coast across continental US
Broke numerous aviation records
Was inducted to the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame

Sojourner Truth

(1797 - November 26, 1883)

Became an advocate for abolition
Was born into slavery but escpaed with her daughter and went to court to recover her son → became first black woman to win this kind of case against a white man
The Mars rover built by NASA was named after her
Recruited black soldiers to fight for the union during the Civil War

Frances Perkins

(April 10, 1880 - May 14, 1965)

Was the longest to serve in the U.S. secretary of Labor (1933-1945)
First woman to serve in a United States presidential Cabinet
Became a leading advocate for industrial safety and workers’ rights
Was the first female appointed to an administrative position in New York
Is credited with creating social security and unemployment insurance in the U.S

Kamala Harris

(October 20, 1964 - present)

First Black woman in California to be elected district attorney
Became the second African American woman and first South Asian American to be a senator
First woman vice president
First Black woman and first Asian American vice president
Wrote a book called The Truths We Hold